


Everything Could Be Beautiful

by liepard442



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationship, F/M, Gen, Manipulation, Murder, Self Harm, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, rape mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-03-09 19:33:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13488318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liepard442/pseuds/liepard442
Summary: Have you ever wondered what would happen if JD and Veronica switched roles, in terms of the murders? Have you ever wondered what would happen if sweet, intelligent Veronica Sawyer reached the end of her rope with the students of Westerburg High School? If she went off the deep end, choosing to drag Jason Dean down with her, using his need to be loved by someone against him?UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY!





	1. Chapter 1

A week into senior year, and Jason Dean was already far too familiar with the “important” faces of Westerburg High School in the sleepy little town of Sherwood, Ohio. This was, admittedly, a record. Throughout all the years, after he stopped his pointless attempts to fit in, JD found himself not finding out much about the school’s hierarchy until at  _ least  _ three weeks into his time at whatever school he found himself at. 

But here? It was nearly impossible for him to go an hour without hearing about the three girls that sat at the top of the students of Westerburg High School-- The Heathers. He didn’t know them by anything else-- He didn’t know their last names, and honestly? He didn’t care to. The petty high school drama was the least interesting thing to him.

As a matter of fact, instead of listening to the chatter of gossip that surrounded him? Jason Dean was more interested in the book that lay open next to his lunch tray. Absentmindedly he slowly ate the incredibly bland cafeteria food, occasionally flipping the pages of the book as his eyes reached the end of each page. It was how he was used to spending his lunch. Most would find the background noise of the cafeteria to be distracting to their reading-- However, to him? It was a pleasant background noise. Much more pleasant than the background noise that existed most nights at home with his father, where he spends most of his nights locked in his bedroom to avoid the drunk man’s near constant rage over the smallest things. 

Of course, there was a commotion that managed to grab his attention away from the book that he had been immersing himself into. The near-constant whispers of people asking the same question-- “ _ Who’s that with Heather? _ ” He hated it, but his curiosity got the better of him at that moment. Someone new with the  _ infamous  _ Heathers of Westerburg High? Turning to look behind him, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. It was true that there was someone new with those three… But she didn't seem like anyone that interesting. Just another pretty girl to be dragged into the limelight of high school drama. In a way he felt bad for her. 

He was about to turn back around to his lunch and book, however the incident that occurred right as he was starting to do so led to him continuing to watch this commotion with wide eyes. The girl dressed in blue-- the “New Heather” had climbed onto the lunch table. He could  _ so easily  _ see her giddy expression. She was so excited, spinning around and showing off. … As much as he hated to admit it, she was honestly really adorable. 

From behind him he heard another girl speak up amidst the confusion. “ **_Veronica?!_ ** ”

This started something entirely new within the cafeteria. Whispers, and even  _ shouts  _ of the girl’s name echoed around him. As the cafeteria broke out into a chorus of her name, Veronica grew giddier and giddier. He was mesmerized by the sight in front of him. In all his years at different high schools… He had never seen such  _ pure excitement  _ from a single person. 

A rather chubby girl-- presumably the one who had initially started the chorus of the name “Veronica” throughout the cafeteria carefully made her way towards the spectacle. This definitely had more of his interest than anything ever had. 

“Martha!” Veronica’s voice was so excited, on top of how it was being carried throughout the cafeteria from her heightened position. She twirled around, letting the skirt that she now wore flow around her. She still wasn't budging from the table, and JD couldn't help but laugh when he finally noticed the horrified looks on the other three Heathers’ faces. “Look at me, Martha! This is beautiful, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it's exciting--” The girl named Martha’s voice didn't carry nearly as much as Veronica’s. It took all of his effort to be able to just barely hear what she was saying. “I'm so happy for you--”

It was, in all honesty, a very heartwarming moment to watch. He wondered how long their friendship would last, however. Considering how Veronica was now one of the popular girls. Relationships outside of the clique didn’t last very long, due to their demands of all her attention. And, almost as if on cue, the Red Heather made a motion for the other two to stand between Martha and Veronica. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but it was obvious that they were calling the poor girl names. It really was a disgusting sight. Every school was the same, wasn’t it? 

He had to force himself to turn away from the situation at hand. It was disgusting, and he could feel himself growing angrier by the second. He wasn’t watching as Veronica was yanked off the table, and the four of them made their way out of the cafeteria, presumably to the bathroom to tell Veronica how big of an embarrassment she had just been. 

\----

School was over, and Jason Dean now found himself laying across his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A familiar situation, yet one that always seemed to change. Every house that they had moved into had a different ceiling-- He spent enough time staring at the damned thing to note every little detail of it. It was, admittedly, something stupid… But it was better than some of the other things that he could be doing with his time. There wasn’t really much else  _ for  _ him to do, aside from stare at the ceiling for hours on end-- Unless he wanted to spice things up a little and stare at the wall. 

Yes, he could get off his ass and start on his homework… But that wasn’t an appealing option to him at that current moment. No, instead he’d rather just stare at the ceiling, being the most unproductive person in the entire world. He couldn’t get the scene in the cafeteria out of his mind-- Why did that girl in particular grab his attention so much? She seemed like just about any other senior girl. She’d be out of highschool, and go off to whatever college, marry whatever guy she wanted to-- Even if he cared enough to try and talk to her, he really didn’t stand a chance. Especially considering who she seemed to be starting to spend all of her time with. 

At Westerburg, he was a nobody. And that’s how he’d prefer things to stay. He’d prefer to stay a nobody, someone that nobody knew much about. Someone that no one  _ cared  _ about. Then he wouldn’t get hurt when he inevitably had to leave this stupid little town, and no one would miss him. That was the best course of action, with the way that his life was. 

He’d come into a new high school as a nobody, and leaving would be just as easy. No bonds to make him feel bad when it was time to pack up and leave, and no worrying about the people who would miss him. Not like anyone would really miss him if he tried to make friends, anyways. That’s just how things always were-- He’d get close to someone, he’d leave, and then they wouldn’t even bother with trying to get in touch with him. He was just that forgettable of a person. No point in trying when he’d just get let down. 

No one really cared, and he always left them. Just like she did--

… He really should get off his ass and stop loathing himself, huh? He wasn’t getting anything done just sitting here, thinking about how pathetic he is. It took all of his energy, but JD finally pushed himself into a sitting position. A glance at his alarm clock showed the time to be 4:30. He’d been laying there, hating himself and feeling numb, for almost an hour. 

He really was a waste of space, and a waste of time, wasn’t he? 

Nonetheless, as he pulled his notebooks from his backpack, it hit him that his dad still wasn’t home. What a relief. Of course, that meant that he’d probably have to fend for himself for supper-- Not that his dad ever cooked anyways. Essentially, he much prefered nights like this. Where his dad wasn’t home when it came time to grab something to eat… That meant that he could slip out of the house and grab whatever he wanted. Maybe he’d grab some kind of sandwich from the 7-Eleven, along with his all-time favorite item from the convenience store that existed all over the United States: a Slurpee. 

Admittedly, to most, a Slurpee would be a waste of money. At least, a waste with how often he got the frozen cup of artificially flavored syrup and ice. Not to him, of course. Slurpees were one of the only consistencies in his life. As long as there was a 7-Eleven, he’d be content with any location that they moved to for his dad’s job. As long as he could get his disgusting hands on that sweet, syrupy, frozen gold… He was certain that he’d be okay. 

Maybe not okay by everyone  _ else’s  _ standards, but okay by his incredibly low standards of “okay.” 

A look over the notes that he had taken showed that he really didn’t have  _ that  _ much that he had to do. Then again, that was expected. It was the first week of school. Teachers usually didn’t assign shit during this time, under the excuse of letting the students get readjusted to being in school. It seemed pointless to him, in all honesty. 

Nonetheless, he began his homework without too much of a complaint. If he was a failure at just about everything else, he’d at least try his damnedest to do  _ something  _ with his life, which required that he finish high school. He wasn’t going to do the same shit that his stupid, violent, toxic, alcoholic father did. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason Dean gets into a fight after Kurt and Ram decide to mess with him, and he finds himself falling in love with the newest member of the "Heathers:" Veronica Sawyer.

The next three weeks were incredibly normal. He, along with the other students, went to class, worked on whatever the teachers forced them to do… And, just like every other school that he had been to throughout his life, it was exactly the same shit as usual. About twenty-five teenagers stuffed into a tiny classroom, all of them wanting to die more and more as each day slowly passed by. Of course, none of them would dare voice that opinion aloud to anyone.

Everyone felt that way, he was sure of it. But none of them were brave enough to say anything about it. The way that school was set up was so pointless and meaningless. All kinds of information forced onto you in a way that could be barely understand, only to be forgotten once the test came and went. Most of it wouldn’t be used out of highschool; it was ultimately pointless and a waste of state funds. School was one of the worst things that JD could think of-- And not just because he hated the idea of getting up early and coming to this god-forsaken place. 

He’d never been to prison, thank God, but he’d been in the equivalent of one all of his life. You couldn’t disagree with a teacher, or else you’d be sent to the office. From there, you would more than likely be suspended because of course you would be. The only students who never got into any sort of trouble were the ones who knew how to keep their mouths shut and just roll with what these smartass were saying, even if they knew it was wrong. 

The students grouped up into cliques where everyone hated each other, and there was always at  _ least  _ one student who everyone feared. Yes, this one student saw it as respect and status, but everyone feared them. Be it due to their strength, sharp wit, conventional good looks, or all of the above… No one truly respected them, they only feared them. 

That was the position that “Red Heather” and her two-- No, not two. Heather and her  _ three  _ lackeys filled. The so-called-respect that everyone held for them that was actually nothing more than fear of her wit and “good looks.” … She wasn’t even that hot, he had no idea why the fuck all these guys were drooling over her. She was a bitch, and the only thing that barely saved her was a curling iron and the cash that her family could flush down the toilet and not miss. At least, that was  _ his  _ opinion on the mythic bitch of Westerburg High School. 

Of course, the first half of the day was normal. Lunch was when things took a turn towards ‘abnormal,’ and even then, it had started off incredibly normal. He was sitting in his usual spot in the cafeteria, doing his usual thing. Eating whatever the cafeteria served from his lunch tray, the book of his choice located right next to him as he continued reading from where he had last left off. 

It was normal. No one bothered him, and he was glad for it. It wasn’t long into lunch that the leader of the bitch brigade marched in, stopping right near his table and impatiently crossed her arms. She was waiting for the other three to arrive and kiss her ass, he supposed. Nonetheless, he was perfectly content to ignore her and go back to his book.

At least, go back to his book before the other two Heathers, as well as Veronica arrived. God, she was looking as wonderful as ever, wasn’t she…? While he quickly glanced back to catch a glimpse of her, he quickly returned his gaze to the book next to him. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, considering they were standing right next to him. … But God, he couldn’t help but sneak the occasional glance at the girl dressed in all blue. She was so fucking cute--

And in the past few weeks, he slowly found himself learning more and more about her. They actually shared two classes, so he was able to pick up a bit about her just from paying attention to the teachers. Her name was Veronica Sawyer, a fact that he had picked up when the teachers’ had checked attendance. She was quick to raise her hand to answer every single question that the teachers asked, and in English she had been eager to point out a grammatical error that the teacher hadn’t even noticed in the notes on the board. Needless to say? She was fucking amazing, just from the little that he had seen of her. Her giddiness and spinning around on the table yesterday was what caught his attention, and the rest of her personality had shined through in the classes that they shared that morning--

There was no point in him trying to get close to her, however. He knew that he’d be moving again eventually. He didn’t want to go through missing somebody again, and he certainly didn’t want for someone like her to be plagued by missing someone like  _ him.  _ Besides, he barely stood a chance with her, considering her posse of bitchy new friends. 

Nonetheless, as the four of them started talking, he couldn’t help himself but to listen in on the conversation with incredible interest. … All the while keeping his gaze on the book next to him. He could pretend that he was reading, and still hear every word that came out of their mouths. 

“ _ I need a forgery in Ram Sweeney’s handwriting. Heather, bend over! She needs something to write on.”  _ There was a short pause before the bitch continued speaking in that voice that he hated so fucking much. She sounded so pretentious. 

“ _ Hi honey! I’ve been watching you, and thinking bout us back in the old days!”  _ As she spoke, Veronica was quickly forging the note as quickly as she could. Was that really a good way to be using such a talent? No, it wasn’t. Not like he had the ability to speak up without getting his ass kicked, though. 

“ _ I hope you can come to my homecoming party this weekend! I miss you! Ram. And put an XO after the signature for good measure.”  _

Veronica quickly finished writing the note, tore it out of her notebook, and handed it over to the Wicked Bitch of Westerburg High. “What’s this for, anyways?” 

“You know how Ram used to hang with Martha Dumptruck back in Kindergarten?”

“Yeah, we all did--”

“And how he kissed her on the kickball field?”

JD couldn’t help but gag internally. She really was a terrible fucking bitch, wasn’t she? He hadn’t talked to her, but Martha seemed incredibly nice. She was obviously the girl that no one liked, but that didn’t change her personality in the slightest. She was sweet, willing to do whatever she could to help someone-- And it was obvious that she and Veronica had been friends for years before this. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched this conversation take place, before the bitch finally called two of the school’s football players over. Ram, and his stupid friend that followed him every-fucking-where. He hated their guts. 

“Hey, Ram, I need you to give this note to Martha Dumptruck~”

“When did  _ you  _ start hanging out with  _ that lardass?  _ What is it, anyways? _ ”  _

“Don’t open it. She’s having super heavy flow, and needed some advice from my Gyno.” 

It was at that moment that Veronica rushed forward, snatching the note from Ram. “I- I’ll take the note-” she managed to stammer out, sending the two of them on their way. The action seemed to piss Little Red Riding Bitch off tremendously, as well. She grabbed Veronica by the wrist, dragging her back over to the other two Heathers and crossing her arms in that bitchy pose that she was almost always in when she was waiting or pissed. 

Her voice was hushed, but considering how close he was he was able to hear the exchange rather well. 

“ _ Are we going to have a problem, Veronica?”  _ Her voice was so irritated. He honestly felt super bad for Veronica, and it took everything he had to not stand up and tell her to fuck off. “ _ Have you got a bone to pick? You’ve come so far, darling, why now are you pulling on my dick? Any other time I’d smack your face off, letting everyone here watch. But I’m feeling nice, here’s some advice… You’d better listen up, biotch!”  _

At that last part she jerked Veronica towards her, beginning to whisper furiously about how she’d better watch pulling shit like that, or else the little reputation that she had given her would be dragged out from under her, leaving her as not  _ only  _ a nobody… But an ex-somebody. 

“I can  _ ruin  _ you, Veronica. So you’d better not fuck with me. So give Heather the fucking note, and we’ll deal with this shit this time. Next time? You’ll listen to what I say, and we won’t be having anymore fucking problems.”

“... I can’t just sit back and watch you hurt my best friend--”

“Dear, she’d do the same for you if she had your shot!”

“... No she wouldn’t, I can’t do the same to her--”

“I told you not to fucking argue with me. I will slap you halfway across the cafeteria if you don’t  _ shut up, Veronica.”  _

Silence, before a very quick and quiet of “Sorry, Heather--” 

“Good girl. Now go on, Heather, dear! You know what to do.”

“O- of course, Heather--!”

It was with that that the yellow one slipped off with the note. Once again, JD really couldn’t give a fuck about their names, save for Veronica’s. 

Once he’d finished his lunch, he couldn’t stand to sit there and listen to their bullshit anymore. Getting up from his seat, he moved to one of the walls of the cafeteria to continue reading his book as he waited for the bell to ring, which it inevitably did. 

It was at that moment that his day got even stranger. Veronica walked past him on her way out of the cafeteria, and out of pure impulse… He decided to speak up to her. “You really shouldn’t have bowed down to the diet coke heads, you know.” Really smooth, JD. “They’re going to crush that girl.”

“I’m sorry, what?” God, her voice was so cute-- 

With that, he slammed his book shut, tucking it under his arm. “Look, you’ve clearly got a soul. You just need to work a bit harder keeping it clean.” He took a step towards her. God, she was so tiny-- And she was even cuter up close, too--  Even in high heels, she only came up to his chin-- 

“We’re all born marked for evil.” And with a cheeky grin… he stepped around her and walked off. Damn, nice going Jason Dean. You fucking did it. You made yourself look ominous as fuck to the girl you like. Good fucking going-- 

As he walked off, Veronica was quick to whirl around to continue the conversation. “W- whoa--! Don’t just quote Baudelaire at me and walk away! Excuse me! I didn’t catch your name.”

JD stopped, turning to look at her over his shoulder. There were a few moments of silence before he finally responded. “I didn’t throw it.” And then he walked away, not looking back to see the expression on her face. 

He had only taken a few steps forward when the two jocks from earlier surrounded him, one of which knocked his book from his hand. What the actual fuck-- 

“Hey, sweetheart!” the first started, grinning. 

“What’d your boyfriend say when you told him you were moving to Sherwood, Ohiooooo?~” the other finished, draping over him, staring him directly in the face. 

“Hey, my buddy Kurt here just asked you a question!” 

“Hey, Ram? Doesn’t the Cafeteria have a no fags allowed rule?”

“Sure does!” 

JD rolled his eyes. Was this really the best they had? A quick glance to the side showed that Veronica was watching the whole thing go down… This could be his chance to leave an impression. “It seems to have an open door policy for assholes, though.” 

“Hold his arms!” the one who had been referred to as ‘Kurt’ demanded. And, almost as soon as the command had been issued, Ram did just that. 

Almost instantly, Jason Dean’s adrenaline kicked in. He kicked at Kurt, using his upper body strength and the momentum to unbalance Ram and push away from him, freeing himself from both of them. He swiftly turned to face Ram, squaring him straight in the jaw and sending him to the floor. He really could still throw a punch, huh? 

Turning around quickly, he proceeded to punch Kurt, and then quickly pushed him away from him. He was much more solid than Ram, thus he wasn’t sent to the floor. With Kurt far enough away from him, he turned around once again, delivering a swift kick to Ram, keeping him from getting up off the floor. 

Another turn to Kurt, and he was able to knock him off his feet with a kick to the ankles. He hit the ground with a loud THUD. Teenagers were screaming and cheering around all three of them, and for a brief moment JD met eyes with Veronica once again. She was terrified of the commotion, but also seemed… Exhilarated, watching this go down. 

He really was leaving quite the impression on her, huh? As the fight between him and the two jocks continued, Veronica was carefully making her way around the other students who had surrounded the three of them, before finally making her way to the front. 

Not thinking much about it, JD flashed her a grin before whirling around to punch Ram in the jaw once again. The entire time that the fight was going on, the two jocks were doing nothing but shouting obscenities at him. He was perfectly calm, save for the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he threw each punch and landed each kick. 

To be on the football team, these two really were shit at fighting. Out of all the voices that surrounded them, some of the loudest screams came from the Heathers. Good lord, their shrieks were so obnoxious-- 

Oh, there was Kurt rushing at him again. This time, instead of a punch or kick, the best option was to backhand him and push him away. He’d honestly been in worse fights with kids who’d never touched a football in their fucking lives. This was pathetic. 

And just as quickly as the fight had begun, it was coming to an end. Both of the jocks rushed towards him at the same time, and with a quick step backwards… He let the two of them take each other out. They hit heads, and fell to the floor. And they had called him a fucking pansy-- 

A quick glance back at Veronica, it was obvious that she was  _ thrilled  _ by the fight that had just happened before her. She was muttering to herself, and it was honestly really cute. He couldn’t hear much of what she was saying over the shrieks from the other students, but he was able to pick up a very tiny amount as he bent down to pick the book that had been slammed to the floor. 

“ _ I would fight for you, if you would fight with me-”  _

As much as he hated to get into a fight like this, he was somewhat glad that he was able to make some kind of impression on Veronica-- … But as soon as the teachers started for the three of them, Jason Dean knew that he’d be in for a load of fucking trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that ya'll enjoy this chapter! Sorry it took me so long to get it posted today. Admittedly, I had completely forgotten that it was Friday sakjgkl
> 
> Nonetheless, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter! Next week's is when things Definitely start to pick up, with a peek into JD's home life, more in-depth than what we're used to seeing in the movie and musical! >:3c


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD gets sent home from school, and decides to take a trip to the local 7-Eleven, where he eventually runs into Veronica once again.

His dad was going to be fucking  _ pissed  _ when he read the note that he got sent home with. He’d been let off for the rest of the day with a warning about getting into fights-- And, of course, those two assholes hadn’t gotten anything for it. It was so fucking stupid and unfair. He couldn’t stand the way that school always fucking was. 

The stars of the football team never fucking got in trouble, no matter what they fucking did. Yet, him? Who hadn’t caused a lick of trouble in the month that school had started? It was fucking bullshit. They had been the ones to start it, and--  **_Gah, it was so fucking infuriating._ **

Thankfully his dad was nowhere to be seen when he got home. He could get away with not showing him the note until Sunday, if things stayed like this-- 

Or he could just never show him the note. It’s not like they would ask for it, anyways. They never cared enough to try to follow up on shit like that. But just as soon as he didn’t have the old fucker sign it, they’d be calling the house to let him know  _ their  _ account of what had fucking happened in the cafeteria-- And then he’d  _ really  _ be fucking in for it, wouldn’t he? 

He really should stop worrying about it for now. He’d cross that bridge when he got there, with the issue. His dad wasn’t home, so there was no reason to be concerned. He’d spend a few minutes taking care of Slushie, and then he’d be on his way to dissociate at the 7-Eleven again. His bike needed gas, anyways-- So it was a win-win situation. 

… Going to 7-Eleven was always a win-win situation, though. A Slurpee, a hot dog… Anything else that he wanted-- It was all right there, in one convenient place all over the United States. 

Of course, for right now, there was one thing that was much more important than going to the local 7-Eleven, and that was taking care of his dear pet hamster… Slushie. He needed fresh food and water, and  _ of course  _ plenty of pets! God, did he love that fucking hamster. They were all the other had, and it honestly made him feel so  _ special  _ to be needed by something like that. 

If it weren’t for him, then this hamster wouldn’t have a life. It made him feel needed, necessary. More so than he actually was, in the grand scheme of things-- But it was nice to know that at least one living thing in this God-forsaken world needed  _ him  _ specifically. The fact that, without him to take care of him, Slushie would die made him feel powerful. It made him feel in control of  _ something _ in his life. 

He held the tiny rodent’s fate in his hands. To this hamster, he was  _ God.  _ He was in charge of caring for him, and making sure that he had everything he needed-- And, if he  _ really  _ wanted to, he could rip it all away-- 

Not that he would, of course. He cared about the little guy too much to pull some shit like that. But the fact that he, in theory,  _ could…  _ It was a fact that made him feel so fucking powerful. 

And thus, with the power that he held over this tiny creature that lived in a cage in his bedroom… Jason Dean quickly placed some food into the cage... And then took the water bottle to the kitchen to quickly rinse and refill it with fresh water. All for his beautiful baby boy whose life he ruled with a gentle, iron fist. 

Once he had returned the bottle to the cage, JD took a few moments to open the cage and carefully run a finger over the hamster’s back a few times-- Before closing the cage, grabbing his wallet, and slipping out of his room and quickly making his way to the garage. A quick glance out the front windows of the house showed that, thankfully, his dad hadn’t arrived home. 

He’d be able to slip off to the 7-Eleven without running into him, which was a  _ huge  _ relief. 

\----

It was only a short ride on his motorcycle, and JD was able to reach his destination. The 7-Eleven. A short stop at the gas pumps allowed him to fill the gas tank, and he made his first entrance into the convenience store. It was just like every other 7-Eleven that he had ever been in-- Needless to say? It was home. 

Yes, some minor things about the lay-out would be different. But there were things that would never change, no matter where he was. While the location of the machines may change, every 7-Eleven had both a Slurpee machine, as well as a place for their fountain drinks. Quite honestly the worst of the two options. Who in their right mind would purchase a Big Gulp when they could have the sweet, frozen gold that was 7-Eleven’s signature slush… the Slurpee. 

Of course, his purchase of his favorite drink would have to wait for a few minutes. As he waiting in the short line to pay for the gas that he had filled his bike with, he couldn’t help himself but to stare back at the machine, located closer to the back of the store. 

It would only be a few more minutes, then he would be able to enjoy that  _ Sweet, Frozen Rush.  _ As to be expected, it only took a few minutes for JD to get to the front of the line and quickly pay for his gas. Almost as soon as he had gotten his change, he slipped out the door into the chilly, early October air and made his way back over to the bike. 

He was only going to move it closer to the front of the store, that way he could spend as long as he wanted to inside without holding up the pumps-- It’d also give him the ability to keep an eye on it through the large glass windows at the front of the store. He’d be there for a couple of hours, at the very least. Him, a Large Slurpee or two, and his thoughts as he zoned out in the linoleum aisles of his fucking  _ favorite  _ convenience store. That was living the dream, if he were to be completely honest with himself. 

Thus, after moving his bike to the front of the store, he was able to re-enter and get the object of his desires-- A Slurpee of his choice. As he approached the machine, he stared at the two options that were presented to him. This was one of the most difficult decisions that he could ever think to make. Cherry or Lime? Both were equally good in his eyes-- Then again,  _ every  _ flavor of Slurpee was good. Slurpees were the most perfect thing that he could think of. They were sweet, and cold, and just…  _ amazing.  _

He stared at the machine for several minutes, still unable to make a decision between Cherry or Lime, red or green… He tried to think back to what flavor he had gotten the last time that he was here, but his memory was fuzzy on the details. In general his memory was fuzzy about a lot of things-- 

He’d just have to make a decision and roll with it, huh? After staring at the machine for a few more minutes, JD finally reached for a large Slurpee cup… And, after a short second of hesitation, he began to fill the cup with a Cherry Slurpee. Once he finished this one, he could always get a Lime one afterwards.

\----

It’d been hours since he had arrived here, and he still refused to leave. Not that the cashier would try to kick him out. He wasn’t necessarily soliciting-- As a matter of fact, he was buying quite a bit throughout his several hours of staying within the convenience store. From the occasional bag of chips to the, expected at this point, numerous refills on his Slurpee. 

Jason Dean could describe the past few hours with one word:  _ Heaven.  _ The occasional, short conversation with the cashier seemed to break the silence that otherwise filled the place most of the time, save for the occasional other customer. None of them cared about the 7-Eleven like he did, of course. 

He was actually standing near the counter, making small-talk with the cashier for the… God, who knows how many times they’ve had short exchanges this evening. Mostly just both of them bitching about school, him bitching about how he’d come here to avoid his dad because he’d gotten into a fight… Basically, just his typical attempt at conversation that he deemed to be fairly successful most of the time. 

Of course, the casual conversation with the cashier was brought to a close as a red Porsche  _ zoomed  _ into the parking lot… And, out of the corner of his eye, Jason Dean saw a familiar face climb from the passenger’s seat of the way-too-expensive car. He watched as she exchanged a few unhearable words from the driver, before starting towards the door of the establishment-- And, right as she started to pull the door open, she turned to look over her shoulder. A much more audible question could be heard as she shouted across the distance that she had just walked. “ _ Plain or BQ? _ ”

The awfullest shriek that he had ever heard came as a response. “ **_BQ!_ ** ”

And with that response, Veronica Sawyer had come into the 7-Eleven to grab the snack of the Demon Queen’s choice. She hadn’t seemed to notice him at first, as she quickly made her way into the store with one destination on her mind-- The Corn Nuts located incredibly close to the counter. 

That’s when he decided that he would get her attention himself. “Greetings and salutations. You want a Slurpee with that?” Fucking. Nailed. It. 

Obviously she looked up, slightly alarmed by the sudden greeting as Jason Dean stepped forward-- Taking a sip of his Slurpee to put emphasis on his question. “... No..? But if you’re nice I’ll let you buy me a Big Gulp,” she responded with a grin. 

JD felt his nose curl slightly in disgust. “Pah. That’s like going to Mickey-D’s and ordering a salad!  _ Slurpee  _ is the signature dish of the house, did you say  _ Cherry  _ or  _ Lime _ ?” Come on, she couldn’t turn this down. Otherwise his chances with a cute, obviously halfway decent girl were completely ruined. 

“I said Big Gulp,” she responded firmly, fiddling with the bag of Corn Nuts that she held in her hands. “... I’m… Veronica. Sawyer.” She stepped forward as she spoke, placing the bag onto the counter. “... By the way… Are you ever going to tell me  _ your  _ name?”

A smirk spread across his face. God, she may have turned down a Slurpee… But she was  _ certainly  _ a charmer. Veronica Sawyer? He could certainly forgive her for the sin of  _ not  _ letting him purchase her a Slurpee on this early October night. “I’ll end the suspense. Jason Dean. JD for short.” As he introduced himself, he stepped a pace forward, holding out his hand to shake with Veronica’s. 

He was almost ecstatic when she took his hand for the shake. Keep calm, JD. Don’t make a fool of yourself, now. 

She quickly pulled her hand away, tucking both hands into the pockets of her blue blazer. “... So… JD. That thing you pulled in the Caf’ was pretty severe.” She ended that statement off with an adorable, if a bit awkward, laugh. Her awkwardness, on its own, was a huge factor of her irresistible charm. He’d never seen someone so genuine in all his years. 

“The extreme always seems to leave an impression!” He was so fucking cheery with his response. 

Veronica had been staring off into space, before finally turning back to face him. “What brings a Baudelaire quoting badass, like you, to Sherwood, Ohio?”

Tch. Of course she’d ask about that. “My dad’s work. He owns a deconstruction company.” JD waved a hand dismissively. 

“ _ Deconstruction?”  _ She seemed so shocked. 

“Yeah, the old man seems to enjoy  _ tearing things down.”  _ A dry, humorless chuckle. “You ever see the commercial? Of, well, uh--” He stooped down, pointing at Veronica in a near-perfect mimicry of his  _ beloved  _ father in the commercial. “ _ Well I’m Big-Bud Dean! If it’s in the way, I’ll make your day! _ ”

“Right! And then he pulls the plunger-” She made the motions as she explained what happened in the commercial, starting with an upward pull of the imaginary plunger, and ending with an ‘explosion’ over her head. “-And the screen blows up!” An awkward laugh followed, and then a disapproving look as she turned to face JD again. “ _ That’s your dad? _ ”

“In all his toxic glory.” JD couldn’t help but to clench his fist ever-so-slightly at his side. 

“Well, I mean, everyone’s life has got stat--”

“ **_VERONICAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!_ ** ” The girl couldn’t help but jump as the shriek echoed throughout the building from the parking lot. 

“... E- example--” she started, pointing towards the Porsche outside. “I don’t really like my friends.” 

“I don’t like your friends either,” he responded, chuckling a bit as he inched a bit closer to her. “Bag the party, hang here.” An open gesture to further emphasize the invitation. 

“ _ At the 7-Eleven?”  _ She seemed almost offended. “Swanky first date.” 

Almost instantly he felt his heart flutter.  _ First date?  _ He never expected to hear those words escape from her mouth-- “H- hey! I love--” He quickly cut himself off. There was no way in hell that he was going to say ‘I love you’ this early on. Instead? Well, he knew something else that he could do. “-this place.”

“No offense, but  _ why _ ?” 

“I’ve moved from place to place my whole life,” he started, before dramatically taking a sip of his Slurpee. “Ten high schools since freshman year, if that puts things into perspective for you.” Her face quickly turned into one of shock. “And, quite honestly? I don’t really remember much about any of them. They’re all basically the same, and it’s just a blur. I don’t bother with names, or people in general. No point when I’ll be gone in a few weeks, anyways.” He just kind of shrugged. 

“Everything in my life constantly changes, but there’s one place that’s always there. It’s always slightly different, but it’s still a consistency in my life. This concrete oasis. Every store is the same, from Las Vegas to Boston! The same linoleum aisle that I love to get lost in… And they all sell one thing that I love more than anything alive--”

“... Slushies?” She had a smirk on her face, and it was honestly so fucking charming. 

“ _ Slurpees, _ ” he firmly corrected. “I live for that sweet frozen rush, Veronica.” Another sip from the cup, this time much louder and quicker than the previous one. JD grimaced-- Just what he was wanting from such a quick sip. Brain freeze. 

“If something’s wrong with your life, just freeze your brain. Suck on that straw, get lost in the pain. Happiness comes when everything numbs… So who needs cocaine when you have something like this? That’s my advice.” He stepped forward, offering the Slurpee to Veronica. “Care for a hit?” 

“Does your mommy know you eat all this crap?” Ah, she was so snarky and witty. He loved it, even if her question stirred up memories that he’d rather not think about at this moment. She was also so careful and dainty as she pushed the cup away, back towards him. 

“Not anymore!” he responded, maybe just a  _ tad  _ too cheerfully. “When mom was alive, we lived halfway normal… Now it’s just me and my dad, and things are a lot less formal. I learned to cook really young, and got a job as soon as I could to try and pay the rent, considering his… Alcohol problem.” He shrugged, not noticing the horror on Veronica’s face. “The world doesn’t owe you anything, y’know? But you? You’re planning your future! Veronica Sawyer! You’ll go to some college, and marry a lawyer-- But the sky’s going to hurt when it falls, so you’d better start building some walls around yourself. You’re going to get hurt badly one of these days. And when that happens..?” He paused for dramatic effect. “Just freeze your brain, shut your eyes tight and let everything vanish from sight… Until nothing remains. It’s like your brain shatters! Fight the pain with more pain, y’know?” 

At that point, the only thing that Jason Dean was doing was rambling. He was barely paying Veronica any sort of attention as he continued to share his life story. “... At least, it’s what helps me get through it all. Don’t have to worry about how I’ll be back on the road in six weeks when I’m dealing with a busting headache, y’know? And it’s a hell of a lot better than following my impulses to kill myself, and it’s a lot less damaging than  _ actually  _ hurting yourself! Better to freeze your brain instead of opening a vein on your arm or something.” 

“... So why not try it?” He turned to Veronica once again, this time purposefully ignoring the expression of… Horror? Definitely horror, that was stuck to her face. He offered the Slurpee to her one last time, holding it out to her. It took her a few moments, but she finally took it from his hand. Her fingers brushed against his, and God-- Her hands were so gentle. She really was a gentle soul, wasn’t she? 

She took a long, careful sip from the frozen drink before handing it back to him. “I don’t see what the big deal i--” She started her sentence as she turned away from him, going back to the counter to try to pay for the Corn Nuts… Before grasping at her head. “Gahh-- Nngh, Son of a bitch!” she growled, glaring at him as he laughed. JD had the biggest grin on his face. 

“What’d I tell you? It’s the best alternative I kn--”

“ _ Veronica.”  _ It was at that moment that their fun was cut short, as the bitch herself marched into the convenience store. “Where the  _ fuck  _ are my Corn Nuts?” She placed her hands on her hips, staring at Veronica disapprovingly. 

“S- sorry, Heather--” Veronica quickly paid for the snacks, muttering something under her breath that neither JD, Heather, nor the cashier who had been forced to watch that awkward display were able to catch. Once she had paid for the Corn Nuts, she grabbed them off the counter, only to be interrupted by Heather as she turned to say goodbye to him. 

“Say  _ bye-bye  _ to Red Dawn here, and let’s fucking  _ motor,  _ Veronica.” Just as she had been instructed, Veronica gave JD a tiny wave as they walked out of the grocery store. As she walked past him, just out of Heather’s earshot he caught the quietest whisper from her. 

“ _ I hate her fucking guts. _ ” 

And, with that, both of them were gone. It wasn’t long after that that JD decided that he would finally head home, as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter posted! This one has one of my favorite scenes in it, in which JD goes a little power-hungry when it comes to his hamster. It was one of the funnest bits to write, and is part of what kept me hooked from the very beginning of writing this fic. 
> 
> Next chapter is when things are really going to start picking up, so I hope that those of you have stuck with me this far continue to stick with me for that! I'm sure that you'll all enjoy what I have in store for you next week~ <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to spiral out of control as Veronica drunkenly breaks into JD's bedroom after a party, and the two make their way to Heather Chandler's home the next morning.
> 
> Trigger Warning: Throat Trauma

Jason Dean was stirred awake by the loud  _ THUMP  _ of someone tumbling onto the floor, coming through one of his bedroom windows. There was only one word that could be used to describe how he currently felt as he reached over to flick on the bedside lamp;  _ terrified.  _ As he flicked on the light, he quickly sat up. His eyes were still adjusting to the dim lighting of the room, the only thing  _ different  _ that he could make out being the… whatever that was on the floor. As well as the now-open window, of course. 

He knew for a fact that the window had been  _ closed  _ when he went to sleep earlier in the night. As his eyes finally adjusted to the dim lighting-- as well as the fact that the figure that had come through his window was now sitting up-- he came to another realization. Especially when his eyes locked with hers. When he had fallen asleep, there had been a  _ distinct  _ lack of cute-girls-from-school-and-the-local-7-Eleven on his floor. … Not that he was really  _ complaining  _ about this new addition-- But it was still startling as all hell. 

“ _ V- veronica?! W- what are you doing in my room?!-- _ ”

She had finally stood up from her initial position of being face-down on the floor, and was now making her way across the room with an incredibly unbalanced gait. Just from watching her, there was really only one way that Veronica could be described. … She was  _ very  _ obviously drunk off her ass from the party that she had attended that night.  _ Oh boy.  _

It took her about a minute of stumbling, but Veronica  _ finally  _ made it over to his bed. … And almost as soon as she had stopped walking… She’d flopped over  _ right on top of JD.  _ Her hand making its way up to his mouth, covering it. “ _ Shhhhhhhh.”  _ There was a moment of pure silence in the room, before she continued. “ _ ‘M sorry,  _ but I really had to wake you… You see, ‘ve decided I must ride you til I break youuu! Heather’s said I’s gotsta go, you’re my last meal on death row. So just shut your mouth ‘nd lose them tighty whities!” 

JD was just staring her right in the face as she stayed draped over him. This was awkward, and he could feel his face changing to a bright red in color. His cheeks were burning as they stared into each other’s eyes. Just from the way she was talking, it was even  _ more  _ obvious to him that she was drunk off her ass. … This was going to be a long night, wasn’t it? “Veronica--” 

“Whaaaat?” She inched her face closer to his, crawling forward just a bit. “C’mon, JD-- Pleeeaaaseee?” She was giving him one of  _ those  _ looks. It was something that… Jason Dean had never thought that he’d see in his entire life, if he were to be quite honest. He never expected himself to be in a situation like  _ this.  _ “Jus’ lemme have this, ‘nd then we c’n get back at herrr--” As she finished this, she leaned forward just enough to kiss him right on the nose. His face was ten shades brighter within a matter of seconds. Things quickly escalated from there.

\----

JD was stirred out of his sleep by a scream from the girl who had fallen asleep next to him. Almost instantly he was scooting over, wrapping an arm around her in some sort of attempt to comfort her-- “ _ Veronica?! _ What’s wrong?! You’re soaking wet--” 

“I- it… It was just a dream--” she responded quickly, getting out of bed and grabbing her clothes from the floor. 

“... What’s the rush?” He was honestly confused as to why she was getting up so quickly. Last night had been  _ wonderful,  _ and she was ready to leave already?? 

“I- I, uh… I’ve got to get to Heather’s--” she responded, out of breath as she quickly started buttoning her blue blazer. God, she was so cute, even if she was a nervous wreck at that moment-- 

“... Why? You said you were  _ done  _ with Heather, Veronica.” He sounded so disappointed.

“Yeah, and that was a sweet fantasy-- A world without Heather! A world where everyone is free from her manicured grip on the world! But now it’s morning, and I have to go kiss her aerobicized ass, or else I’ll be the laughingstock of the damned school come Monday morning--” She was talking so quickly that she just had to sigh at the end of that last sentence. She was so clearly a nervous wreck about having to face Heather. He had no idea what had happened at that party last night-- But, in all honesty, he wasn’t too happy with the fact that Veronica felt that she had to apologize to such a goddamned bitch. 

That was one thing that he absolutely hated about high school, and especially the “popular” cliques. One little mistake or act of ‘defiance’ and an innocent, wonderful person like Veronica Sawyer would be the laughingstock of the whole school. It was terrible. High school was  _ terrible.  _ … Of course, at the same time, as much as he disagreed with it? He couldn’t blame her for going to apologize for whatever had happened. 

It was scary for him to think about. A girl who’d had nothing in the hellish hierarchy of high school finally reached the top of the ladder, only to be shoved six feet under when she made one little mistake-- It was a familiar feeling, though not due to the hellish cliques of high school. 

“... Then let me come with you, at least.” He’d thought it over a good few moments, before offering. 

“...  _ Really? _ ” She seemed so… surprised by the offer. 

“... Yeah. Y’know? For backup.” As he spoke, he finally sat up and pushed himself out of bed. He quickly grabbed a shirt from the closet, and after slipping that on over his head, he donned his  _ signature  _ trench coat. He wouldn’t dare leave the house without it. That was his  _ thing.  _

“O- okay-- Um… thanks--” As soon as he had gotten the trench coat over his arms, she walked towards him and stopped directly in front of him… Standing up n the tips of her toes, trying to reach for a kiss. She was so tiny-- It was charming and adorable. With a smile, he leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. As she backed away from the kiss, her face red as could be… She quickly blurted out one little thing that took him by surprise. “Um.. B- by the way-- …  _ Youweremyfirst.”  _

And with that she quickly slipped out of the bedroom. He was dazed for a moment, in shock. Well he wasn’t expecting  _ that.  _ Of course, she’d been  _ his  _ first time, too-- And, God. As sloppy and messy as it had been…? It had been fucking  _ amazing.  _

After letting what she had said register, he was right behind her-- Until finally stepping around her to beat her to the door. He stepped outside first, holding the door open for her with a grand gesture from his free hand, a cheeky grin on his face. “Ladies first, sweetheart.” 

She giggled, stepping through the door and out into the morning sunlight. It was still relatively early, probably around 8:30 in the morning? He hadn’t thought to check the clock before they slipped out of the house. Not that it mattered too much. “Well aren’t  _ you  _ charming, JD?” she stated, stopping on the tiny front porch and turning to face him. She had a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “... How about we head there that motorbike of yours, hm?” 

“I’d be honored to take you,” he responded, nodding as he shut the front door and quickly locked it. “You’ll have to tell me how to get there, of course. I’m afraid I don’t know my way around too well, still.”

“Well then I guess I’ll have to show you, hm?~” she responded cheekily, crossing her arms. “But I  _ guess  _ I can tell you how to get there. But I’m  _ certain  _ that you could figure it out on your own~” 

“I doubt that, considering how I’ve only lived here about a month and a half.”

“... Okay, good point.” 

\----

It didn’t take them long at all to reach the home of Heather Chandler. Admittedly, it was a  _ very  _ nice house. Then again, that much was obvious. Just from what JD had heard in the month and a half that he’d lived in Sherwood, her parents were  _ loaded.  _ They hadn’t even went  _ inside  _ the house yet, and that much was obvious from the property that their home sat on. 

A large yard surrounded a house that was much larger than the one that JD was currently living in with his father. Two stories, and it appeared to have a basement. Just from a quick glance over of the outside, it was obvious that the house had  _ at least  _ four bedrooms. The paneling on the outside looked rather new, and it was painted with a bright red.

It appeared that red wasn’t just a  _ Heather Chandler _ thing, but rather a  _ Chandler  _ thing in general. 

Once JD had parked his bike in the driveway, Veronica was quick to jump off the back, stretching and taking off  _ her  _ helmet as he set up the kickstand. No helmet removal necessary for him, of course.  _ He _ didn’t need a helmet. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it wasn’t like it’d matter too much to  _ him  _ if he got hurt in some kind of freak accident. Veronica, on the other hand? Well, it was obvious. It was only right that  _ she  _ wear ne. He couldn’t stand to see someone like  _ her  _ get hurt, if anything happened. Once he was off the bike, he followed Veronica around to the side door that led into the kitchen-- He was almost  _ startled  _ when she let herself in without knocking. 

“Veronica--” His voice was a whisper as she stepped through the entryway. “We don’t even know if she’s  _ here--”  _

“She is,” she responded confidently, making her way over to the refrigerator. “She always skips the Saturday trip to Grandma’s, even when she’s not hungover,” she explained, before raising her voice so that it carried throughout the house. “ _ Heather! _ ”

“ **_VERONICA?!_ ** ” There was an ungodly shriek from upstairs, and JD just  _ barely  _ flinched. Thank god Veronica didn’t notice it. “ **_YOU’VE GOT SOME NERVE SHOWING UP HERE AFTER LAST NIGHT-_ ** ”

Veronica’s voice was still loud enough to carry through the house. “ _ I wanted to apologize--! _ ”

“ **_WELL I HOPE YOU BROUGHT KNEE-PADS, BITCH! MAKE ME A PRAIRIE OYSTER, AND MAYBE THEN WE’LL TALK!_ ** ”

… God, she really  _ was  _ unbearable, wasn’t she? Even out of school, she was a total  _ bitch.  _ Then again, he didn’t really expect anything any different. There was always a girl like her at school. There was always at least  _ one person  _ who would treat everyone like shit. Because she could. Because, no matter what,  _ she  _ was on top. It was sickening. 

Snapping himself out of his own thoughts, JD turned his attention back to Veronica, who was fumbling about in the fridge. “I don’t even know what a fucking Prairie Oyster  _ is _ \--” 

“Egg, hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of salt and pepper.” JD recited the ingredients off the top of his head, looking at her with not only a grin, but a hopeful look. 

“... You sure do know your hangover cures,” she commented, gathering the ingredients that he had just listed off. 

“... Yeah-- My dad taught me lots of things,” he explained, going over to the counter and watching as she began to mix the disgusting cocktail that was  _ alleged  _ to help with a hangover. He stood still for a few moments, looking over her shoulder-- Before walking over to the sink and digging around in the cabinet underneath. After a few moments, he pulled out a blue, plastic bottle. “Of course, I think I have a  _ better  _ idea to cure her hangover.” A mischievous smirk as he walked over to the counter where Veronica was still preparing the cocktail of Heather’s choice. He set the bottle down right in front of Veronica. “Drano.”

Veronica stared at the bottle a few moments, before rolling her eyes and sprinkling some hot sauce into the mug that she was working in. 

Not even a comment on his genius joke? Damn. He reached above her head, opening the cabinet and grabbing a glass. Once it was down on the counter, he twisted the cap off the bottle of Drano and poured the blue liquid into it. “This’ll cure her hangover, right?” 

“Or I could just hack up a phlegm globber into this and call it a day,” she responded dryly. “Besides, she’d never drink anything that looked like  _ that,  _ JD.” 

Damn, she really didn’t appreciate his sense of humor at all, did she? He reached up into the cabinet again, this time pulling out a mug with a lid. “So we’ll put it in the mug, and she’ll never know the difference!” He proceeded to pour the contents from the clear glass in the the mug he had selected, placing the lid on it. 

Okay, at that point Veronica couldn’t help herself but to laugh just the slightest bit. “JD, that stuff’ll kill her!” 

“ _ Thus  _ ending her hangover, sweetheart!” 

“I’m not giving her that,” she responded bluntly. “... I appreciate the joke, though, dear~” Her voice was so carefree. It was a nice feeling, knowing that he had been able to humor her like that. She stared at the contents of the mug for a moment, before finally deciding on what she was going to do to the Demon Queen’s hangover cure-- JD found himself staring as she spit into the mug before carefully placing the lid on it. 

There it was. The acknowledgement that he was  _ craving.  _ He leaned down, quickly placing a kiss on her lips before the both of them headed upstairs to Heather’s room. Veronica knew exactly where they were going, and he’d pour out the Drano once they’d dealt with the royal bitch herself.

Veronica was first to walk into the bedroom, and of course JD was right behind her. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but the bright swatches of  _ pink  _ everywhere wasn’t it. He watched as Heather sat up, peering at them through the sheer canopy the veiled her bed. 

“Good morning, Heather--” Any and all confidence that Veronica had shown earlier was gone. It was quite sad to see, in all reality. Such a kind, confident girl brought down in the presence of someone who really didn’t deserve the time of day-- 

“Aw, Veronica! … And  _ Jesse James.  _ Quelle surprise.” A short pause in her words as she looks between JD and Veronica, before locking her gaze  _ directly  _ on Veronica as she pushed herself up from the bed and approached her. “Let’s get to it. Beg.” 

“U- um-- Okay-- I think we both said things that we didn’t mean last night, Heather--” 

“Oh, I would actually  _ prefer  _ if you did this on your knees, Veronica.” A smirk from Chandler. “In front of your boytoy here?” 

“A- as I was saying, I’m really sor--” 

“Do I look like I’m fucking  _ kidding,  _ Veronica?” A smirk, as well as a chuckle. “ _ Down. _ ”

JD was not happen with this situation in the slightest. Who the  _ fuck  _ did that bitch think she was-- … He should have grabbed the cup of Drano on the way up here. She’d deserve it at this point-- 

Nonetheless, Veronica complied with her orders. It was a sad sight to watch as she sunk down to her knees and Heather Chandler grabbed the mug from her hands. “That’s  _ much  _ better,” she states, turning and taking a step away from Veronica. “...  _ But you’re still dead to me.  _ Also? I’m not drinking this. Knowing you, you probably coughed up a phlegm globber or spit in it. Now,  _ get out of my house. _ ”

Veronica stared at her for a few moments, before crossing her arms. “What, are you too  _ chicken  _ to try it, Heather?” 

“Do you really think that calling me a chicken is going to make me drink this shit?” she asked, setting the cup on her bedside table. “Nice try.  _ Get. Out. _ ” 

“Aw, look at that, JD! She really is a chicken!” … Veronica  _ really  _ wanted Heather to fall for her prank, didn’t she? It was honestly cute to watch from where he was standing, leaning against the door frame. 

There were a few moments of hesitation, before Heather finally picked up the cup again. Another second passed and she removed the lid from the mug and took a  _ huge  _ drink of the contents. In all honesty, JD had no idea how  _ anyone  _ could stomach something like that. Even without the spit, a Prairie Oyster seemed absolutely  _ disgusting.  _ Even  _ he  _ wouldn’t dare try to drink a raw egg. He’d rather deal with the headache than taste  _ tha--  _

It was only a matter of seconds after she had taken the drink that the cup was hitting the white carpet, leaving a blue stain as the liquid flowed out of the cup. He stared at it for a few moments, before redirecting his gaze to Heather, who was clutching her throat with her hands. She was started to choke and cough and gag. 

A look at Veronica, and it was obvious that  _ she  _ was just as horrified by this situation as he was.  _ She’d accidentally grabbed the wrong cup.  _ He should have checked before they came upstairs--  _ GOD DAMN IT--  _

“N- no-- Nononono--” There was panic in Veronica’s voice. It was obvious that she was trying to figure out what to do, but nothing came to mind- “ _ If we call the cops, they’ll think I did this on purpose-- _ ”

\----

Heather Chandler’s throat was on fire almost as soon as she had swallowed what she had  _ assumed  _ to be a Prairie Oyster. Her preferred hangover cure, the one thing that actually seemed to  _ work  _ for her. Once she had taken a large gulp of what she  _ assumed  _ to be the cocktail of egg and other ingredients, she looked into the mug to realize something a little too late. 

_ That hadn’t been a fucking Prairie Oyster.  _

Instinctively, due to the pain, Heather’s hands were quick to clutch her throat. She wanted to scream, to cry out, to even  _ beg for help--  _ But she couldn’t. Not because her voice wouldn’t work, but because she was in immense pain. Because she was coughing and choking only  _ moments  _ after drinking the liquid that had been served to her. In her panic and pain, the last thought on her mind was the blue stain that would be on her perfectly white carpet. 

“ _ W- what are we going to do?! _ ” It was obvious that Veronica was panicked. That was a stupid question for her to ask.  _ She knew very well what she needed to fucking do--  _ But, of course, she couldn’t quite vocalize that through the coughing. Whether or not she was going to  _ jail  _ shouldn’t fucking matter. She was  _ dying over here.  _

She could feel what she had drank going down to her stomach, causing her entire digestive tract to burn. It was a constant pain, the easiest thing that she was able to equate it to would be the times that she had managed to burn a finger on her curling iron… But a million times worse. 

There was no way that drinking something could  _ burn  _ that much-- It was only a few seconds into another coughing fit when she felt arms wrap around her from behind. A look down revealed somewhat muscular, scarred arms that  _ definitely  _ belonged to Psycho Trenchcoat Kid, considering how Veronica was still clearly pacing around the room. What the  _ fuck  _ did those two think they were doing?! 

“Y- yeah! THat’s a good idea-- H- hold her in place-- W- we can figure out what to do later--” Veronica was still pacing around the room. The idea of calling for help either hadn’t crossed her mind, or was a possibility that she was purposefully ignoring. Just how  _ sick  _ was she?! As much pain as she was in, there was only one thing that Heather could do at this point. 

She started to struggle against JD’s grasp, coughing and hacking. In between each coughing fit, she was able to choke out a few short words. “ _ Let-”  _ Coughing. “ _ GO OF ME YOU FR--”  _ She wasn’t able to finish the sentence before she was wracked with another fit of gagging. 

When the gagging turned into coughing again, the blue liquid that she had drank wasn’t the only thing that was staining her carpet. Now, from her very own mouth, red chunks were beginning to land on the floor as she coughed up blood and…  _ other  _ things. It was terrifying. 

He throat was now burning for more reasons than what she had just drank. Bile was building in her throat, and her throat was starting to grow sore from all the coughing. It was hell. As she struggled, the only thing that she could do was watch Veronica with pleading eyes as she continued to pace around the room, anxiously muttering to herself. 

And no matter how hard Heather Chandler tried, Jason Dean was too strong for her to break away from. This was the first time in a  _ very  _ long while that she had felt so hopeless and helpless, unable to do anything to change the situation she was in. And she hated it. Of course, the only thing that she hated more was the fact that she was going to die here, and now. Without either of these two even  _ trying  _ to get help. Without these two even  _ attempting  _ to save her. 

It was an utterly terrifying experience to be in. 

\----

JD had no idea how much time had passed when Heather finally stopped moving and trying to fight to get away from him. There was blood all over her clothing and the floor where they had been standing, as well as dried blood on his arms. It really had been a good call to toss his trenchcoat onto the bed before grabbing her, huh? 

It took a good few moments for the reality of what just happened to sink in, and that realization hit him like a  _ truck _ , causing him to finally let go of Heather’s body. She crumpled down to the floor, limp and lifeless. The only thing that he could do for a good few moments was stare at her corpse in abject horror. “ _ I killed her- _ ” His voice was so quiet as that admission of guilt escaped his lips. “I should have checked to make sure you grabbed the right cup-- This is all my fault, I should have been more careful. I shouldn’t have made such a stupid fucking joke in the first place--” 

He looked up at Veronica, finally. The only thing that she was doing was staring at the corpse before them, much like he had been only a moment earlier. She slowly looked up at him. “... The cops are going to think we did this on purpose if we get caught--” She was so worried about that. He felt  _ so bad.  _ This was all his fault. His stupid joke was going to ruin her life. They’d be caught and… yeah. She was right. This wouldn’t be seen as an accident in the slightest. 

How do you  _ accidentally  _ give someone a cup of fucking  _ Drano?  _ There had to be a way that they could get out of this. Or, at the very least, there had to be a way to get  _ her  _ out of it. It really didn’t matter that much if he got caught and blamed… But the fact that her fingerprints were all over the cup that the drano had been in would be a huge mess. To the cops, the truth would be completely unbelievable-- 

“... You can do Heather’s handwriting as well as your own, right?” The question was sudden, but he was coming up with an idea. Veronica nodded, obviously unsure about where he was going with this. 

“... Now, we… Um… We killed her. And that’s a crime-- Murder is, most definitely, a crime in Ohio-- But… What if we made this, like, a suicide thing?” This was illegal, and would only get them in more trouble if they got caught. … But it was worth a shot, at least for  _ her  _ sake. He shouldn’t have put her in this position in the first place. 

“... Like a suicide thing?” 

“... We make it look like a suicide,” he explained, starting to walk around the room. On her bedside table was a book that he recognized, one of the corners folded into the book to mark her place. He picked up the book, bringing Veronica’s attention to it. “See here? She was reading  _ The Bell Jar. _ ” He walked back over to Heather’s corpse and dropped the book by her side. “... And you know enough about her to make it convincing.” 

There was a short pause, before he tossed a notebook of Heather’s to Veronica. “... Start it with something like this.  _ There was pain in my path, like Sylvia Plath… My problems were myriad--”  _

Veronica spoke up, cutting him off. Her voice had a joking, almost mocking, tone to it. “I was having my period!--”

“ _ Veronica. _ ” He was stern as he spoke up, giving her  _ a look.  _ “We have to make this good enough to fool the cops, or we’ll be caught.”

“I know, I know-- But Heather would never use myriad. She missed it on the vocab test last week.”

“Then it’s a badge of her failures at school! Just  _ work with me here, Veronica--  _ What’s her final statements to a cruel, uncaring world? _ ” _

“Fine, fine--” She was quiet for a few moments, staring at a blank piece of notebook paper. “... Dear world. Believe it or not, I knew about fear. I knew how loneliness stung-- I hid behind smiles, and crazy hot clothes… I learned to kiss boys with my tongue?” She paused, finishing writing what she was saying. JD was looking over her shoulder, and simply nodded. “Good, keep going--” 

“... Have you done something like this before?” The question was sudden. She kept writing, either way. 

“E- eh?! No-- Of course not-- Just get the note done so that we can get out of here, before her parents get home and they call the cops--”

“Give me a few minutes. Like you said, I have to make this good, JD.” He nodded, stepping away to give her both room and time to finish up the note. 

“... I’ll go downstairs and clean up the mug with the Prairie Oyster--” he suggested after a few moments. Once Veronica nodded, he quickly slipped out of the bedroom and started downstairs. … It was at this time that he could quite seem to shake the feeling that someone, or something, was watching him.  _ That something was following him--  _

Then again, that was a common paranoid fear of his. One that he learned to shrug off. It wasn’t worth causing a fuss over. No one would take it seriously, so it was better not to say anything. … It was better to just keep walking, and ignore the feeling as best he could. 

It would go away eventually. It always did. 

He reached the base of the stairs, and turned back into the kitchen. The way that they had come into the house. As he passed the counter, he grabbed the mug and quickly made his way to the sink. First order of business… Getting rid of the disgusting cocktail that he had told Veronica how to make. He weighed his options, before finally settling to pour it down the sink drain. 

A quick glance-over of the counter that the sink sat in revealed a switch for the garbage disposal. … The Chandlers really  _ were  _ loaded, weren’t they? Damn. He flicked the switch, watching as the egg yolk was destroyed and the contents finally made their way down the drain. 

“ _ I didn’t expect there to actually be a damned prairie oyster down here. _ ” JD froze, his finger right on top of the switch, ready to turn the disposal off. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone else in the house, aside from him, Veronica, and the corpse upstairs  _ with  _ Veronica. … Yet the voice that he had just heard was…

It was one that he had heard screaming and begging between coughs not too long ago. He was just imagining things, right? It was just his brain fucking with him, right? … Right?

“ _ Ugh, stop fucking ignoring me! I know that you heard me, jackass. Turn that damned thing off, it makes the most horrible racket that anyone’s ever heard. It’s making my hangover worse. _ ”

JD did as he was told, flipping the switch and stopping the noise from echoing through the kitchen. He was mostly still again, for a few moments. He didn’t know what to do. He shouldn’t just do what he was being told to do-- It wasn’t  _ real.  _ None of it was real. He’d seen things out of the corner of her eye before, heard the occasional sound out of nowhere--  _ None of it was real.  _

And this couldn’t have been the exception to that. …  _ Right?  _

“ _ Turn the FUCK around and face what you did to me, asshole. _ ” She was starting to sound impatient. It wasn’t the impatience that terrified him, but rather the fact that he was hearing  _ her  _ voice to begin with. 

He slowly turned around, his eyes meeting with the translucent apparition of Heather Chandler, who now stood before him. Her arms were crossed, and she was clearly displeased. She was still wearing the outfit that was on her corpse-- The short robe with a short nightgown underneath. … If you could even call it a nightgown, with how short it seemed to be. She looked tired and irritated as all hell… 

The most defining feature, however, was the bit of blue that stained her bottom lip and the right side of her mouth. … Seeing her standing there, right in front of him was even more terrifying than hearing her voice from behind. It took everything that he had to keep himself from shrieking like a little girl. 

“ _ So mind telling me what the HELL you two were fucking thinking, Jesse James? _ ”

JD was about to open his mouth to respond, to explain himself-- The only thing that saved him was Veronica stepping through the entryway into the kitchen. It was obvious that Heather was incredibly displeased with this arrangement, but she stayed quiet. If looks could kill, JD would most certainly be just like she was right now. Dead, on the floor in one of the rooms of the Chandlers’ home. 

“... I thought you said you were coming down here to clean up so that we could leave once I finished the note?” Veronica asked, tilting her head just a bit. Her eyes fell on the empty mug that was held in JD’s hands. 

“... Oh, right-- I kind of, um… Zoned out--” He quickly turned around and started running some water to quickly wash out the cup, which he then dried and returned to its place in the cabinet. There. They were done, and more than likely ready to go. As they stepped out of the house, he gave one last look to Chandler, who still seemed pissed as fuck. 

Veronica hadn’t even noticed her. … And he had a gut feeling that he’d be seeing her again eventually. Nonetheless, as they walked towards his motorcycle, Jason Dean had one of the greatest ideas that he had ever had. “... Hey, how about you and I go get a Slurpee? To get our minds off this shit--”

She stared at him for a few moments, her expression blank and nearly unreadable. It was after a short wait that she finally opened her mouth to respond. “... Fine.” 

\----

JD finally arrived back home after his morning escapade with the girl that was now his girlfriend. First the accidental murder of the Bitch of Westerburg High-- Something that still weighed heavy on his mind. He agreed that she was terrible, but…

It really had been an accident. He should have checked to make sure that Veronica had grabbed the right cup, or he could have just dumped the Drano down the sink-- … For once it seemed like the Slurpee just wasn’t enough to deal with all of it. 

It’d been a long while since he’d felt like that. Since he’d actually felt the need to do something more. … So many good things had happened to him within the past twenty-four hours. However, at the same time? The one  _ terrible  _ thing that had happened seemed to outweigh everything else in his mind. 

Which made complete sense. He had just witnessed murder. He had just  _ participated  _ in an accidental murder. That was enough to fuck anyone up. If he were to be completely honest, he felt similarly to how he felt on…  _ that  _ day, years ago--

“ _ Hey, Red Dawn. _ ” He froze as he reached for the doorknob. “ _ We’re talking. Right now, you son of a bitch. _ ” Jason Dean slowly turned around, his eyes meeting with Heather Chandler’s once again. “ _ I asked you a fucking question earlier, that you decided to be a hot shot and ignore. What the  _ **_fuck_ ** _ were you and that crazy bitch thinking?! _ ”

He was silent. He didn’t really know how to respond to that. He really hadn’t been thinking when he acted-- … Not to mention that he felt like utter shit at this moment in time. He really wasn’t in the mood to be talking to some deadass bitch. In reality, he was really in the mood for one thing. Zoning the fuck out and hating himself for several hours. Possibly days. 

Nonetheless, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to leave him alone until she got an answer from him. … Probably not until she got an answer that she was content with. “I wasn’t.” His response was blunt, yet his voice was low. He was being brutally honest with her. 

In all honesty, there was one thing that his mind was screaming about this whole thing. He was probably hallucinating, or something like that. … He’d actually done it a handful of times before. Not that he would ever tell anyone. The one time that he had tried to say something about it to his dad ended terribly. He learned very quickly that it was best to keep any and every issue that he ever had with people to himself.  _ Especially  _ when it came to that toxic bastard. 

He stared at the apparition that stood before him, waiting for it to move. To react to his words. She stared at him for a few moments, dumbfounded, before finally speaking. “ _ You have  _ got _ to be fucking kidding me. You’re saying that you  _ weren’t  _ thinking when you fucking poured some nasty ass shit into a mug and gave it to me, killing me? Do you fucking  _ know  _ how painful that shit was? How fucking painful that shit  _ still is?  _ What, did you think that this was some kind of cute joke?! Oh! We’ll kill Heather Chandler! It’ll be funny! She won’t even know what we’re giving her because she’ll be half asleep when we come u-- _ ”

“I didn’t realize that Veronica had grabbed the wrong cup.” JD’s voice was dull and tired. He crossed his arms, leaning against the framing of the house. 

“ _ Implying that you purposefully fucking poured that shit in a cup in the fucking first place, you  _ **_sick fuck--_ ** ”

JD looked away from the translucent blonde that stood before him, before finally turning and going into the house. Just as he had expected, she was right behind him. 

“ _ You’re not just fucking walking away from me again, Jesse James. You’re going to fucking explain yourself to me! And I’m going to make your life a living hell for you and Veronica’s stupid ass,  _ **_sick shit._ ** _ You may have ended my life, but I’m going to fucking  _ **_ruin_ ** _ yours, dear. _ ”

The reached JD’s bedroom when he finally turned to face Heather again. “You’re threatening to do shit that’s already been done. You’re not scary in the slightest,  _ ‘dear.’  _ I highly doubt that some hallucination, or even  _ ghost  _ could make shit worse than it already is. So go right fucking ahead. Do your worst. You really don’t scare me in the slightest. Yes, it was a sick joke that I didn’t realize would go  _ that fucking far.  _ And trust me, I’m fucking paying for my shit already.  _ Without  _ you coming here and  _ trying _ to cuss me out over it.”

The only thing that Heather Chandler could do was stare at him, dumbfounded once again. “Now, if you’ll fucking  _ excuse me,  _ I have a date with my bed for hours of self-hatred and self-loathing because of the fact that I didn’t check the cups before we went up, as well as for the fucking fact that I didn’t just take the goddamned bullet and call the fucking cops because Veronica was scared out of her mind.”

“ _ She’s not the only one who was scared out of her mind, asshole. Considering I was the one literally  _ **_begging_ ** _ for you sick fucks to try and help me as I was coughing up my own guts. You’re  _ **_sick_ ** _ for just sitting there,  _ **_holding me_ ** _ as I suffered until I took my last. Fucking. Breath.  _ **_Fuck you, you sick, psychotic fuck._ ** ”

“Is that really the best that you can come up with? Is ‘sick fuck?’ Cute.” And, with that, Jason Dean proceeded to flop down onto his bed and stare up at the ceiling, completely ignoring anything and everything that Heather Chandler had to say from here on out. It was similar enough to the kind of shit that he had to say about himself, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely a long chapter, but like I said last time: things definitely started to pick up here! I hope that you enjoy everything that's gone down so far, and that you look forward to the next chapter! 
> 
> I apologize for posting this a bit late, I've started work recently and completely forgot to post this on Friday.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica returns to school after the death of Heather Chandler.

It had been an almost completely normal Monday morning for Veronica Sawyer. She had arrived at school several minutes early, just like normal. She was standing at her locker, going through her things… Just like normal. The only thing that was abnormal was the lack of Heathers  _ demanding  _ that she get her ass to whatever location to talk with the Mythic Bitch herself. 

That was one thing that Veronica Sawyer wouldn’t miss about Monday mornings. … Or, really, every morning from now on. The weekend had been interesting for her, to say the least. She threw up all over Heather at the Homecoming Party, lost her virginity, and the very next day she successfully framed the Demon Queen’s murder as a suicide. It would only be a matter of time before the intercom crackled to life, announcing the news to the rest of the school.  

She would never admit to what she had done, but Veronica knew one thing. That Saturday morning, she had done a  _ huge  _ service to Westerburg High School by giving Heather Fucking Chandler a mug of  _ Drano  _ instead of her disgusting ass prairie oyster. A hero’s work always seemed to go unthanked, so even if she  _ did  _ admit to her crimes… She wouldn’t really get anything out of it. 

Aside from a lifetime in prison. But that wasn’t much of a reward, now was it? 

Veronica finally grabbed the things that she would need for her first few classes. Two textbooks, as well as the binder that she kept all of her school work in-- And, of course, the most important thing…. Her diary. 

After grabbing the things that she needed, she closed her locker and started making her way towards her first period class. … She was always there before the bell rung, except for when the Heathers had needed her. She could finally start to return to her old habits-- 

She stopped in her tracks right in front of Heather Chandler’s locker, which was standing wide open. Two familiar faces were digging through her things. … Of course those two would already know about what happened to her. It took a few moments of thinking it over, but Veronica finally walked towards the two of them, tucking her books and binder under one arm.

As soon as she was within reach,her free hand reached between the two of them, causing McNamara to jump slightly as her hand brushed past her hair-- Veronica Sawyer knew exactly what she was going for, her hand wrapping around the one thing that she needed from Chandler after her perfectly-timed death. 

One of Chandler’s red scrunchies. It was obvious that Duke was about to reach for the same thing, by her look of disdain as Veronica set her books down on the hallway floor to tie the newly-obtained scrunchie into her hair. 

“ _ What  _ in the  _ fuck  _ do you think you’re  _ doing _ ?” Heather Duke was the farthest thing from content with what had just happened. She whirled around to face Veronica, her arms crossed. “Who said  _ you  _ could just waltz over here and take shit out of Heather’s locker?  _ We  _ were cleaning it out, considering what happened. Maybe you should have a little fucking  _ resp-- _ ”

“If anyone has any right to Heather’s things, it’s the one who dethroned her ass at the party,” Veronica cut in, tightening her hair into a ponytail with the scrunchy that she had just obtained. “Besides,  _ Heather,  _ someone just a little  _ nicer  _ than Heather should take her place. She wanted to help the world with her suicide, right? Thus someone who  _ isn’t  _ a “true” Heather should take her place at the head of the school, don’t you think? Besides, I’ve been a lot nicer to you than both Heather and Heather combined.” 

McNamara took a step back, clearly not wanting to argue with what was going on. It was obvious that she was the most grief-stricken of the group for  _ some  _ reason. Could anyone really miss a bitch like Heather Chandler? 

Duke, on the other hand, wasn’t completely convinced. “Oh, so Miss Goody Two-Shoes thinks that she can just waltz in and take over, huh? You were a fucking  _ charity case.  _ Someone that we could use for a little fun, and then eventually spit back out with a ruined reputation.”

“You’re only proving my point, Heather.  _ Besides,  _ I’m the one with the scrunchy, right?” An innocent smile. “I’m the one who made a complete fool of Heather at the party Friday, too. You have to admit that you found it fucking  _ hilarious,  _ Heather. Especially with how she treated  _ you?  _ I can treat  _ everyone  _ better than she did. Sometimes all it takes is replacing a terrible person with someone better to make a great change, you know.” A short pause. “... How about you think things over, and we talk about this more at lunch, okay? But more people will  _ actually  _ like you if you’re nice to them, rather than if you’re a complete mega bitch like  _ she  _ was.” 

Without waiting for a response from Duke, Veronica picked up her things and started back to class, leaving both Duke and McNamara in utter silence. She really  _ did  _ make a convincing point, if she did say so herself. 

\----

Lunch crept up on Veronica quicker than she had expected. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she was lowkey dreading the conversation that she’d  _ have  _ to have with Heather Duke, considering the incident at Chandler’s locker earlier that morning. Of course, even with her feeling of dread, she was certain that she knew how to handle the upcoming situation with ease. 

Walking into the cafeteria, Veronica was shocked by the reaction that she received from her fellow students. Everyone looked up from their lunches to watch her. She hadn’t had that many eyes on her since the day that she had  _ joined  _ the Heathers… … Word really did spread quickly at Westerburg, didn’t it? 

Someone had to have seen the scene between her and Heather Duke in the hallway, which was… Honestly a good thing. That gave Duke even more of a reason to listen to what she had to say. 

In all honesty, Veronica had really liked Duke. Out of all the Heathers, it was obvious that she had at least a  _ little  _ kindness in her soul. Heather Chandler had been a heartless bitch, and Heather McNamara followed her around like a lost puppy. It was honestly a disgusting sight for her to watch. But Heather Duke? The reasoning for her actions was very obvious from the way that Chandler had treated her. 

Chandler and McNamara treated Duke in a very specific way-- They treated her like utter shit. She was the scapegoat. The one that they could get away with bullying within their own friend group. The one who would continue to deal with it just to keep her  _ taste  _ of being noticed. Her taste of being popular. … Her taste of finally being left alone by the majority of the student body. 

Heather Duke was much like Veronica, a girl who had joined the Heathers and was only there as long as she was useful to the other two in some way. In the case of Heather Duke, her usefulness was how easy of a target she was. She was an easy punching bag who would continue to take their shit because she had nothing to return to. … Veronica could still remember the days that she and Martha spent with her, before she left them to be  _ popular  _ with the other Heathers. 

… She had done the exact same thing, but now she’d realized her mistake. And while she wasn’t going back to Martha quite yet… She planned to. Eventually. Once she started using her new influence to improve the kind of place that Westerburg High School was. 

With all those eyes on her, Veronica made her way to the very front of the lunch line. Something that she had done several times before, with the assistance of the Heathers. It was a habit at this point-- … A habit that was being met with not even the slightest protest from behind as she grabbed a tray to get the lunch of her choice. 

She didn’t grab anything too fancy. Just a standard lunch of a few pieces of fried chicken, some sweet peas, and some mashed potatoes with gravy. The school’s lunch wasn’t the greatest, but it was better than not eating anything. She wasn’t going to admit it to anyone, but she’d left her lunch at home in the rush to get to the school that morning. She wanted to see the kind of reaction that everyone had to her handiwork over the weekend. 

With the tray in her hands, she made her way to the same table that she had been sitting at for several weeks now. The Heathers’ Table. No one that wasn’t a Heather, or Veronica, dared to sit here. They knew better than to try, or else they’d have a hoard of bitchy girls pissed at them-- As well as the entire football team to back them up.

It really didn’t matter too much to Veronica, if she were honest. It was just a table. She could sit anywhere that she wanted, but she only came to  _ this  _ table for two reasons. The first being habit, and the second being the fact that she wanted to make things as easy on Heather Duke as possible. She had to be able to find her easily for them to have their conversation, right? 

It wasn’t too long after she sat down that Heather and Heather made their way into the cafeteria. Almost as soon as she spotted her, Duke came and sat down right across from Veronica. She didn’t look content with the situation in the slightest. 

“You said you wanted to discuss shit over lunch?” She was very straight to the point, wasn’t she? Veronica was silent for a few moments, giving Duke a chance to add to what she was saying. “... I’ve… thought about what you said this morning. And… I think that you definitely had a point--”

A look of pure  _ shock  _ spread across McNamara’s face as Duke said that. It was clear to Veronica that she hadn’t expected things to go like this. Veronica, on the other hand? Definitely had. She knew that the events of the morning would spread through the school like wildfire, which would work to influence Duke’s decisions at this very moment. As well as her use of the topic of people liking her-- 

Duke had always been like herself and Martha. Really, everyone was like that. They all wanted one thing, at their core. To be accepted. People wanted to be loved and cared for-- Accepted. 

Her words that morning had dangled that very fact right in Heather Duke’s face, and she was taking the bait. It was just like what Veronica wanted. She was one step closer to making Westerburg a decent place. 

“... Oh, really?” Veronica kept her response incredibly casual as she continued to eat her lunch. “Does that mean that you’re willing to try things my way, then, Heather?”

“... Yeah. ‘ve done a lot of thinking since this morning, and… Yeah. I think that it’d be better than whatever Heather had going for us--” 

“But Heather, you don’t want to listen to  _ her--”  _ McNamara protested quietly. A quick, sharp glare from Duke was enough to make her shut her mouth, however. It was obvious that all her power was gone, now that Chandler was completely out of the picture. 

Without Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara was a lost dog. She didn’t have anyone to listen to unconditionally. She didn’t have someone to follow mindlessly like she had with Chandler. … It was honestly kind of sad, but it was all for the best. After all, Veronica was the only person who could make the school a beautiful place. And it was already getting closer to her ideal without someone like  _ Chandler  _ in charge. McNamara would just have to make due, without her. 

Veronica offered Duke a polite smile and patted the chair next to hers, an invite for Duke to sit beside her. It was obvious that she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but after a few moments she finally sat next to Veronica. McNamara stared for a few moments, before taking a seat directly across from Duke, rather than next to Veronica. 

“... First thing that I want to change is pretty simple. No more shit like what we did to Martha.” Veronica’s voice was firm, and held a very slight amount of intimidation. It was similar to how Chandler used to speak, before her  _ tragic  _ “suicide” during the weekend. The only difference between the two being the fact that Veronica’s words were much kinder than anything that she had ever heard Heather Chandler say. 

Instead of using that intimidation and bluntness to order them to hurt people, Veronica was going to use a similar tone to encourage these two to change. After all, if she were to change the two most  _ popular  _ girls in Westerburg, the school wouldn’t be that far behind. Or, at the very least, that was the plan for now. 

Westerburg would be the ideal place before Veronica Sawyer graduated in May. She’d make  _ sure  _ of that. Even if it meant that she had to pull a  _ few  _ more strings, like she had over the weekend with Heather Chandler. 

Yes, it was  _ technically  _ murder. But it was murder that, in her opinion, was worth it. Heather Chandler was a bitch who only made the lives of everyone around her miserable. While the school seemed even  _ more  _ interested in her, currently… Veronica knew that that would fade. And once that faded, the influence that Heather Chandler had on the school would too. 

\----

School let out an hour early, due to the events of the weekend. Of course, that hour was more like thirty minutes, considering how they had to refuel the busses to start getting kids home. 

Ms. Fleming took advantage of that fact, and called the  _ entire school  _ into the cafeteria for what she described as a “solid half-hour of healing.” It was more like she was forcing everyone to talk about Heather Chandler, and how ‘wonderful’ she was. … Veronica really had done a good job with that note, hadn’t she? 

Yes, it was something that was inaccurate at times. But she really had to add a lot to it to sell that, in actuality, it was a suicide. Besides, the revelation that even  _ Heather Chandler  _ had some kind of issue was something that Veronica could use to her advantage in the weeks to come. 

Of course, she never expected for things to blow up like this. She’d never expected for Chandler’s name to be whispered throughout the school more than it already was. Of course, this time, instead of terrible rumors and gossip, on top of everyone talking about how terrible and terrifying she was… 

Heather Chandler, through her death, had become more popular than she had been in life due to the pity and mourning of Westerburg High School’s student body. 

\----

Everyone was finally dismissed from Ms. Fleming’s event in the cafeteria. Veronica only had to stop by her locker for a handful of things. Her homework, as well as her diary. Two things that she would be caught dead leaving the school without. 

Of course, instead of taking the bus home, like she was used to… She had a different idea. One that was made even more plausible by the fact that she had made it out of the school  _ before  _ her ride home… Thus she waited for him right next to his bike, which was parked right in front of the school. 

As Jason Dean came out of the doors, Veronica waved, a pleasant smile on her face. Even from their distance, it was obvious that JD wasn’t doing too great-- … But his face lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree when he saw her standing there. He picked up his pace, stopping on the opposite side of the bike. “Veronica-- I didn’t expect you to be waiting out here for me-” 

She continued to smile at him. “... Heh, yeah-- … Do you think I could get a ride..? … If it’s an issue, I can walk-- My place really isn’t that far from the school-- … But I had a lot of fun riding around with you this weekend--” As Veronica spoke, she rocked up and down on her toes anxiously. She knew that he’d say yes, but she couldn’t  _ act  _ like she knew that. 

His smile grew just a little. “Oh, yeah-- Sure thing. I don’t mind at all.” Almost as soon as he gave her the okay, he gently tossed his helmet to her. “Make sure you put that on. Can’t have you getting hurt, now can I?” 

Veronica could feel her face burning as she put the helmet on, and it was obvious that JD had noticed the way that her cheeks flushed red due to the cocky grin that was now on his face. “Of course, I think you owe me some kind of payment for this, sweetheart?” Veronica couldn’t help but giggle as those words came out of his mouth. 

“Like what?~” She knew exactly what he wanted from her, but she had to play along. That was how relationships worked, right? One of them started something like this and the other played along until the both of you kissed. 

“Well, you can start with a kiss… And maybe stopping by my place for a bit? I’d  _ love  _ some help with my homework, and my dad won’t be home for a few hours~” 

As JD leaned down to get his kiss, Veronica leaned forward, balancing herself by putting her free hand on the seat of the motorcycle. The two of them shared a quick kiss, and as they pulled away… 

“Looks like I’m not the only one turning into a strawberry out here, JD~” she playfully mocked, noticing just how red  _ his  _ face was, now. “But fine, I’ll help you with your homework.”

\----

Veronica spent a good few hours on the floor of JD’s room, looking over textbooks, worksheets, and everything else that revolved around school. Of course, homework wasn’t the  _ only  _ thing that the two of them were doing. 

There had been several instances of both of them stopping in the middle of a math problem, or in the middle of a paragraph in the history textbook to cuddle or kiss. It was, in all honesty, one of the best study sessions that Veronica Sawyer had ever had. She wondered if JD could agree with that sentiment as they cuddled up against each other, staring at the words in a history textbook as they each took their own notes for class. 

Veronica almost jumped off the floor when she heard the door open behind them, not a knock to be heard before someone walked in. JD almost instantly froze up as he looked up, his eyes meeting with the person who had just walked in on them. Veronica craned her head up, her eyes also meeting with the intruder-- A balding man who appeared to be in his late 40s, and one that was not unfamiliar to her. 

The TV commercial was the first thing that popped into her head, and it was at that moment that Veronica Sawyer finally saw the resemblance between her boyfriend and the guy that just  _ loved  _ to blow up old buildings. Or, at least, she assumed that he loved it. That was his job, after all. A business that he had created all on his own. 

“What the  _ hell  _ have I said about the door being closed, Jason?  _ Especially  _ when you’ve got a damned girl over? What the hell are you two doin’ in here, playin’ grabass?” 

JD was quick to hop to the defensive side of things. “No-- I just asked Veronica to come over to help me study, damn. And so  _ what  _ if we were? It’s not any of  _ your  _ business--” 

“Don’t you get smart with me,  _ boy.  _ As long as you’re livin’ under my roof, you’re livin’ under my rules. And when I say don’t close the goddamn door, I  _ mean  _ don’t close the goddamn door!” 

Veronica could already tell that she did not like this man very much, just from her first introduction to him. He didn’t even  _ try  _ to act like a decent human being. “... If I’m causing an issue, I can just get my stuff and go home-” 

“No, no. You’re fine,” JD reassured, reaching over to wrap an arm around Veronica, an obvious act to comfort her… But also an obvious act of defiance against his old man. Out of habit, Veronica was quick to lean on to him-- … An action that very clearly left JD’s dad incredibly pissed off. 

“Me ‘n you are going to have a long talk once she’s left, Jason.” Yeah, he was very clearly pissed. “First this goddamned tribe of withered ol’ bitches throw a fit because I’m supposed to destroy this fleabag hotel here in town, and now you’re being a disrespectful piece of shit. Like always.” A pause, before he finally turned away from the both of them. “Get your fuckin’ homework done, or whatever the fuck it is you two are doing. But if I find this goddamned door closed again, I will beat your ass, Jason. Just because you’re seventeen doesn’t mean shit.” 

And then, almost as soon as he had barged in, ‘Big Bud’ Dean was gone. … It wasn’t long after that that she decided to ask JD to take her home, using the excuse that her mother was cooking her favorite thing for dinner. Spaghetti with lots of oregano.

Of course, that was a lie to get herself away from such an uncomfortable situation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah! Interesting events, hmm? Veronica taking the scrunchy all for herself! And with everything that's happened... Is that really a good idea? Probably not. 
> 
> Either way, sorry this is a day late. Had some issues with AO3 yesterday, and it wouldn't let me post this chapter. But that's all fixed now, so!! I hope ya'll enjoyed it! <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting JD's father, Veronica returns home and receives a call from Heather McNamara... Asking her to come out to the Cemetery, that it's an emergency.

Veronica hadn’t been home for very long when the phone rang. She hadn’t been doing too much, either-- She’d just been laying in bed, the radio softly playing from her bedside table as she wrote in her diary about the events that had happened at JD’s house earlier. There was one conclusion that Veronica Sawyer had been able to reach incredibly easily when it came to her boyfriend’s dad-- He was one person who definitely  _ deserved  _ to die, much like Heather Chandler had. 

Of course, that would be something that would have to wait for a long while, if she and JD stayed together. After all, she highly doubted that he’d be into the idea… Even if it was obvious to her that he absolutely abhorred his old man’s presence--

Her train of thought had been interrupted by the ringing that came from the phone, which was located right next to the radio. 

Her parents weren’t home tonight. They were out on some kind of date, something that they did on occasion. Not that she minded being home alone, of course. It was nice to not have to worry about her mother barging into her bedroom, shoving snacks and other things onto her. She loved her to pieces… But one of the best ways to describe her was a tad bit overbearing and embarrassing at times. 

She waiting for the phone to ring a few times, before finally rolling over. She turned the radio down all the way before picking up the receiver. “Hello? Sawyer residence.” 

There was a very familiar voice on the other end of the line, and she sounded… panicked. “Veronica?? I need some help-- It’s an emergency--” 

Well that was a shock. Heather McNamara was calling  _ her  _ for help? She twisted her index finger around the phone cord. “What’s wrong? Where are you?” 

“I’m at the cemetery-- Please hurry, it really is an emergency--” 

Veronica didn’t get a chance to respond further before McNamara hung up the phone. She was left with two options: she could be a complete asshole and  _ not  _ go, or she could be a decent human being and do the opposite. 

Obviously Veronica made the decision to be a decent human being, and pushed herself out of bed to go to the cemetery. 

\----

It didn’t take her long to find Heather McNamara, who was standing right outside of Duke’s Jeep. Kurt was laying on the ground, completely out of it. The conclusion that Veronica quickly jumped to was that he had passed out after drinking too much. 

“What happened?” she asked, approaching McNamara. 

“M- me and Kurt and ram and Heather Duke came to pour a bottle of Thunderbird on Heather’s grave-- Y- y’know, from her homies…?” As she said ‘homies,’ a rock-on hand gesture was shyly produced on both hands. It was incredibly awkward for Veronica to watch, but she didn’t comment on it. “... B- but… Kurt and Ram drank it all-- Ram and Heather went off together, and then Kurt started touching me and he wouldn’t stop, a- and--” 

She was choking up as she spoke, tears starting to swell in her eyes. It was obvious that she didn’t want to be here anymore. Veronica crossed her arms, staring at Heather. “After everything that happened at the party, why did you call  _ me? _ Considering how I made a complete fool out of Heather?” 

“W- well that was the deal--!” she spat out quickly, just barely fumbling over her words. “I- if I got you here, Kurt promised that he’d leave  _ me  _ alone--” 

“... So you’re trying to get out of daterape. By volunteering  _ me  _ for daterape?” She was starting to dislike Heather McNamara more and more. She really was a lot like Heather Chandler, wasn’t she? Absolutely disgusting. 

“Y- you’re making it sound really ugly--” 

“I’m leaving. I’m not dealing with this.” Veronica kept her voice level and blunt as she turned around, starting to walk away from Heather McNamara. She’d really come all the way out here for this? It would have been one thing if Heather had called and asked her to come  _ get her,  _ but the fact that she had volunteered her for that was one of the most  _ disgusting  _ thi--

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when she felt someone grab her wrist firmly from behind. “Heyyyyy, Rrrrrrrrronicaaaaaaaaa~” For the first time in a week or so, Veronica Sawyer wanted to literally die. 

\----

As soon as Veronica entered the doors of the school, she could feel eyes watching her. No matter where she went, there was always someone staring, a whisper that she could hear but not make out the words. She had grown accustomed to the attention since she’d risen to Heather Chandler’s place… However, today’s attention seemed… off. It was different from normal. 

It honest scared her just a bit, considering the events of last night. She didn’t know how to handle it, and had ultimately decided to not say anything about what had almost happened thanks to Heather McNamara-- She’d be able to handle the situation on her own, she imagined! She’d gotten away with Heather Chandler’s murder, after all… So Kurt and Ram wouldn’t be any different. And then, eventually, Heather McNamara for multiple reasons. The way she had treated Duke, the incident last night-- And who knows what else. 

Just like Heather Chandler, Veronica had decided that those were three people who deserved to die for the shit they’ve done. Ram Sweeney, Kurt Kelly, and Heather McNamara. … As a matter of fact, she… already had a plan for the first tw--

Her train of thought was interrupted as she passed those two in the hallway, talking to one of the other cheerleaders. Originally Veronica was going to just walk past them-- Until they spoke up, loud enough for her to hear. 

“Well speak of the Devil, Ram!” Kurt started, a grin as he elbowed the linebacker. “See, there’s the little slut now. We had a  _ real  _ good time last night, Rrrrrrrrronica~ Thanks to you~” 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” She almost instantly turned to face them, glaring at Kurt as she spoke up. “If I remember correctly--”

“You let us have a hugeass swordfight in your mouth!” Ram spoke up, laughing his ass off. “And you can’t deny it, Veronica! You fuckin’ loved it!” 

She felt sick to her stomach. That explained all the looks and whispers when she came into the building-- Those two had been telling the entire school a big fat lie about the night before. They hadn’t even  _ done  _ anything to her, but oh god did they try-- 

It was a good thing that those two were drunk off their asses, and Veronica was easily able to get away from them amidst their flailing around the cemetery. If she thought that the situation couldn’t get any worse… She heard someone stop behind her, and then felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“... What’s that about last night..?” 

Almost instantly Veronica started to tear up as Kurt responded to the question that JD had asked. “Oh, right! The Psycho hadn’t heard about how his girlfriend is a dirty, cheating whore!”

“I didn’t do anything with them!” She turned around, wrapping her arms around JD and crying into his chest. “They’relying-- I didn’t have sex with them or do anything-- They’re lying--” 

“That’s not how  _ I  _ remem--” Ram didn’t get to finish the sentence. Veronica was pushed away from JD very carefully, before he sprung forward and socked the linebacker in the nose. The only thing that Veronica could do was stand back and stare, still blinking the tears from her eyes as she watched JD get into another fight with those two. 

Just like last time, people gathered around to watch the spectacle. Veronica was nowhere near as excited as she had been previously-- She was upset. She was seething with rage at the fact that those two would just  _ do something like that after their sorry attempt at--  _

And her rage was only building as she watched JD struggle against those two. This time the fight was much more unbalanced. Jason Dean was losing from the get-go-- The lack of surprise an obvious factor in the fight this time. A large crowd of students gathered in the hallway, watching this entire spectacle go down--

And Veronica could hear the loud talking all around her. Insults being thrown around, not only at him-- but at her. It felt like every other word was either “Psycho” or “Slut--” Or, at the very least, some variation of those two words. And the fact that JD was losing so badly--

Veronica almost lost it when Kurt and Ram were pulled off of JD, and all three of them dragged towards the principal’s office-- Of course, not without Ram breaking away from Coach Ripper just to get  _ right in Veronica’s face,  _ a huge grin on his before he spat out one last insult. 

“ **_Whoooooore!_ ** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is rather short, but considering what all happens... I couldn't cut it any differently. Sorry I forgot to update last week, I was busy with work. I hope to get back on schedule after this week, though!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD has been suspended from school, and Veronica decides to get revenge.

Three days wasn’t too bad of a suspension. He’d… Definitely dealt with longer ones in other states. And it wasn’t like the suspension itself was what JD was worried about-- No, there were two other things that were on his mind. Two other things that were much more important to him than not being able to attend school for three days. 

The first of which was, of course, Veronica. He  _ hated  _ seeing her cry like that. That was why he’d sprung to action in the first place-- Those two did have any  _ fucking right to spread lies about her like that--  _ They didn’t have the  _ right  _ to hurt such a wonderful person who  _ cared about so many people--  _

She was wonderful, and there was no way in hell that he was going to let them get away with making such a beautiful, kind,  _ compassionate  _ person cry like that. She had only clung to him for a few seconds, but in that time it was so obvious to him-- Veronica Sawyer was someone delicate and easily damaged. Someone that he’d have to take it upon himself to protect, no matter what-- And with the way that the students of Westerburg were… 

It was definitely a difficult task that he had taken on himself. But one that he didn’t mind. Veronica was the first person to show him any  _ shred  _ of kindness in a long time-- And like hell was he going to let assholes like Kurt and Ram hurt her like that, when she was so happy with herself-- When she was so  _ content  _ with where she was in life, even after what had happ--

“ _ Nice going, dumbass. Getting kicked out of school for that bi-- _ ”

“She’s not a bitch.” His voice was quiet, yet full of anger as he whirled around, his eyes locking with Heather Chandler’s. “I don’t even know why you insist on fucking with me, still. You were fucking there. You saw how upset she fucking was.” 

“ _And who’s to say that they were lying, hm?_ _You don’t know for sure,_ ** _dear._** ” 

JD opened his mouth to respond-- But quickly closed it, choosing to hold his tongue. There was no way in hell that he was going to start  _ yelling  _ at a goddamned ghost in the middle of the hallway. “Just shut your fucking mouth for ten minutes, God fucking damn it.” Without another word, JD started to walk away from Chandler-- 

But the apparition, just like always, followed after him. “ _ You both murdered me. Who’s to say that she wouldn’t turn around and cheat on you, sweetie? After all, she’s basically taken my fucking place, the goddamned bitch. Wearing my fucking scrunchy-- I’d have her crucified by the whole school just for  _ **_that_ ** _ if I were still ali-- _ ”

“She. Didn’t. Mean. To.” JD had begun to lose his patience with Chandler’s ghost. 

“ _ If it were an accident, her goody-two-shoes ass would have called the cops either fucking way. She wouldn’t just pace and let you fucking  _ **_hold me down until I died, asshole._ ** ” 

“We’re not having this conversation.” 

“ _ Yes, we ar-- _ ”

Having spotted Veronica, JD picked up his pace and rushed towards the small girl, who was standing just outside her locker. There was no one else in the halls, since the bell had rung-- Was she really skipping class just for him-? He really hadn’t had anyone to care for him like that since-- 

No, don’t think about her right now. Veronica is much more important, JD. He approached, and once he was close enough the first thing that he did was embrace her. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly-- There was no way in hell that he was going to let go of her, at least. Not unless she asked him to. 

It was obvious that he had managed to startle her, but once she realized that it was him… She sunk into the hug, burying her face into his chest. She really was upset over that whole situation, wasn’t she…? There was no way that the ghost that was haunting him was right about that one thing. Veronica would never cheat on him. If she had done that, she wouldn’t have been so  _ upset  _ over those rumors-- 

“... It’ll be okay--” he tried to soothe. He wasn’t very good at being gentle. He was nothing like her. Veronica was the kind of person who could calm someone down with words alone-- But here, the only thing that he could really do was hug her and try to be there for her. He ran his fingers through her hair, anything that he could think of to be even slightly comforting to the obviously upset girl that he cared so much for. 

That was the thing. Jason Dean loved Veronica more than anything else in the world. He loved her more than  _ himself--  _ He’d do anything to make sure that she was okay. To make sure that she was happy, and that no one hurt her-- 

And he had failed that, very obviously. That fact was further solidified by her shaking her head. She still wasn’t talking, instead choosing to keep as close to him as she could. 

“... Yes. It will, Veronica. I swear. You’ve been so good to me-- I’ll do anything to make you feel better. I love you so much, okay?” God, he was so fucking awkward. He hated that about himself. They’d been dating for a short while, but he still had no fucking  _ clue  _ what kind of shit to say to her-- 

“They… They made you cry, and I know that the things they said hurts like hell-- B= but… You know that I don’t believe any of it, Veronica. And anyone with any sense won’t, either. You’re beautiful, and wonderful, and the farthest thing from any of the things that they called you.” At this point he was just listing off how he felt about her, but he was certain that it would help to some extent. “... What even happened last night..?”

“D- don’t want to talk about it rightnow--” Her voice was a whisper. It was harsh. It was obvious that she had been crying, only having just recently stopped. He moved his fingers from her hair, and started gently rubbing her back. 

“Alright, that’s fine… I promise-” He was trying so hard to keep his voice gentle. “... I know you don’t like doing it, but… I, uh. Can’t really go to class because of that-- So… We could go get a Slushie..? And maybe talk and get you calmed down..?” God, he really could go for one of those right now, considering how he had let her down so badly. 

“And then you can always come back once you feel better and all, I won’t force you to keep hanging out with me, since I know school is really important to you, and it is to me, too! I just can’t go to class because I got suspended, y’know--” 

It was so  _ nice  _ to hear her laugh a bit as he fumbled over his words. She didn’t say anything else, but he was still able to get a response from the fact that she nodded against his chest. 

“... In that case, will it be Cherry or Lime, Babe?” 

She was silent for a few moments, before finally responding quietly, a tiny and quiet giggle with her answer. “... A Big Gulp.” 

\----

The two of them didn’t return to school after their trip to the local 7-Eleven. Not that JD minded that fact much. As a matter of fact, he didn’t mind it at all.  _ He  _ couldn’t go back, and Veronica deserved a nice break from that hellhole… Not to mention the fact that he didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her after the incident that had happened earlier in the day. Overall? It was very much a win-win situation. 

The two had went to his place for a bit, after leaving the 7-Eleven. Veronica hadn’t wanted to go home quite yet due to the fact that he parents would be home-- And they’d be disappointed to find that she had skipped school for one reason or another. A sentiment that JD could… Vaguely understand. Of course, his reasoning for avoiding his father in situations like that was more out of fear of his reaction, rather than fear of their disappointment. 

… Nonetheless, it was  _ basically  _ the same thing, right? 

Thus, there the two of them were. Sitting in his room, talking about one thing and then another. JD sat at his desk, while Veronica had taken her spot at the foot of the bed. As they talked, he absentmindedly stared into his hamster’s cage-- Watching as Slushie ran in his wheel, getting nowhere… Yet still managing to accomplish… something. 

In a way, it was encouraging. … But only vaguely. 

“...  _ Honestly,  _ I don’t even know what those two were thinking-- I didn’t even do anything last night with them-- That  _ bitch  _ Heather called me up, asked me to come out there, and then their drunk asses flailed all over the place trying to get me to have sex with them! And then they have the  _ gall  _ to try and say that we had a good time last night?! I want nothing to do with their disgusting, sweaty asses--” Veronica was still so worked up over the rumors that those two morons had been spreading. Admittedly, it broke his heart to hear her so worked up over it--

Of course, she had every right to be. What the two of them had tried, at least from what he had managed to gather from Veronica… Was completely unacceptable. And to add insult to injury by spreading rumors was abhorrent-- High schoolers really were demons, weren’t they? 

It was always the same. Ten high schools in three years, and nothing changes. Nothing changes from one school to the next, and this was only proving it to him. 

The only good thing that Westerburg had to offer anyone was Veronica. Sweet Veronica, who didn’t deserve any of what she was getting. Veronica, the love of his life who could do nothing wrong.

“... Yeah, it’s fucked up,” he finally managed to respond. “... I tried to get back at them for you, bu--” 

“... I appreciate the sentiment.” Her voice was so quiet. After a few moments of hesitation, JD finally made a decision. Sliding his trenchcoat over his arms, removing it from himself… He stood up from his chair and sat next to the petite girl that he loved so,  _ so much…  _ And draped the garment over her shoulders while wrapping an arm around her. 

Admittedly, it was a good thing that he had chosen to wear a long sleeved shirt under the coat that day. Otherwise he would have been far too worried about her opinion of… Some things to do it. But, for now? He was perfectly content to be as comforting as he could to his beloved. 

He couldn’t help but smile a bit as she leaned into him, accepting his comfort. Once again, tears starting to prick at her eyes. The sight made the rage he almost constantly felt start to grow-- But with a deep breath, he was able to keep his voice steady as he spoke to her. 

“... Veronica, you’re the only thing that’s right about this place. It’s… It’s a lot to deal with. Last night, and today-- But it’s okay to cry, okay..? I‘m here.” A reassuring squeeze, bringing her closer to him. 

“... Okay..”

“... They don’t matter, anyways. People like them don’t matter at all. If you ask me, they should rot in  _ hell  _ for even fucking trying that shit. Same goes for Heather McNamara, for calling you into that  _ bullshit--”  _

“... Yeah.” Veronica pulled away suddenly. “... The world would be a better place with people like Kurt and Ram, and even Heather McNamara, dead.” 

That was a… very sudden change of tone. JD stared for a moment, making sure that he heard her right. Did Veronica… really just say that? Of course, he agreed one-hundred percent, but-- “... Yeah.”

Veronica stared at him a moment longer. It was obvious that she was thinking about something, but he had no idea what it could be-- “... We could make the world a better, more beautiful place, y’know..” She had a glimmer in her eye, and it was honestly the most adorable thing--  _ If you completely ignored what she was implying.  _

“E- eh?!” The reaction was quickly choked out, and JD couldn’t help but cough after forcing the noise from his mouth so quickly. “V- Veronica! We can’t do  _ that--  _ Notagain--” Out of the corner of his eye JD could see a glint of red, which he refused to turn to face. Of course  _ she  _ was there, watching this. 

She didn’t know how to give them a shred of privacy, did she? The glimmer seemed to fade from Veronica’s eyes, and JD instantly felt an intense pain in his gut. He hated to tell her no, but there was no way that the two of them could do something like that. The first time had been an utter accident, and he still hated himself  _ so much  _ for the murder of Heather Chandler. 

She had deserved it, yes. But it was a terrifying thing to be a part of. He still had nightmares of that day.  _ And her ghost haunting him didn’t help that matter in the slightest. _

“... JD-- They’d deserve it! People like Kurt and Ram don’t deserve to live-- They don’t have any respect for anyone!” Her voice was raising, it was obvious that she wasn’t happy with his disagreement in her idea. “JD, they  _ almost raped me!  _ Last night was  _ utterly terrifying--  _ They could have do so much more than what the managed to-- N- no matter what I said, they wouldn’t stop trying to grope me--  _ The world would be better off without them!- _ ” 

“ _ Don’t tell me that you’re seriously considering agreeing with her. _ ” Oh, shut the fuck up, Heather. There was no way that he could respond to her, and he had no  _ intention  _ of doing so. He could feel his rage bubbling more and more as he listened to Veronica’s tearful explanation of the night before. How her voice cracked, how  _ pained  _ she sounded-- 

It utterly broke his heart. 

“We’d get caught, Veronica--”

She shook her head, the tiniest grin forming on her face. “Not at all. We didn’t get caught with Heather, right? We can do the same thing here! We can forge a note, and no one will ever know the difference.”

… She had a very good point. … Besides, he… He didn’t want to say no to her. He didn’t want her to hate him because he didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want Veronica to  _ hate him.  _ That was the  _ worst thing  _ that he could think of-- Losing the one person who was actually showing him love and care. The one person who had  _ actually cared about him in a very long time--  _

… But at the same time, what if they got caught? Then they’d both go to jail, and she didn’t deserve that-- … Maybe her hating him would be worth keeping her safe from that-- 

Oh, who was he trying to kid. Himself? There was no way in hell that he could handle her hating him. 

“Fine.”

“ _ You’re both fucking psychopaths. _ ” 

Almost as soon as the word left JD’s mouth, a smile formed on Veronica’s lips. “You really mean it?” She leaned into him again. She was so warm-- It was really nice having someone that he could be so  _ close  _ to-- He didn’t want to lose that. Ever. 

“... Of course.”

“ _ I can’t believe you’re agreeing to this. Especially after your fucking constant breakdowns over what happened with me. Remember how much that made you hate yourself? And do you really want to prove those jocks right? All you’re doing is proving you’re a fucking psycho. _ ”

Heather really needed to shut the fuck up. It was, admittedly, taking everything that he had to not snap back at her. But he couldn’t do that in front of Veronica. He couldn’t do anything out of the way like that. She’d surely hate him. He couldn’t lose her. 

“In that case, I have a very tiny question to ask… Do you have a gun?”

\----

Veronica sat at the head of her bed, her eyes locked on the guns that JD had laid in the center. Her parents were already sound asleep, and she had invited him into her room through the window-- If things went according to plan, her parents would never even know that he had been there. Next to her was the binder that she kept all of her papers in for school. It only took her a second to reach inside and pull out the note that she had forged in Ram’s handwriting. 

She passed it to JD, before taking  one of the guns into her own hands. “I’d say that I got his handwriting almost perfect,” she stated, looking over the firearm with careful eyes. “No one will ever know that it isn’t true. Especially when you consider how close he and Kurt are.”

She watched as he read over the note. He stared at it for a few moments, before nodding in response to what she had said. “.... Yeah. It’ll work.” It was obvious that he was nervous about what they were going to do-- Really, he had no reason tobe. Veronica knew exactly what she was doing! There was no way in hell the two of them would get caught. 

“It’s for the greater good! Remember how the world used to look, JD? When we were kids? How  _ beautiful  _ and  _ pure  _ it was?” He nodded, Veronica grinned. “That’s what I want to do with this. I want to make the world the way we used to see it.” It was a noble plan. One that she was incredibly proud of-- 

“... So how are we going to get them where we can do this?” Veronica was pulled out of her thoughts by JD’s question, which he asked as he passed the forgery back to her. It was… a very good question. One that she was glad that she had thought of the answer to earlier that day. 

“I’ll call them,” she answered, placing the note back into her binder. “I’ll tell them to meet me at the cemetery at dawn, for a threesome. And then we kill them and frame it as a suicide. No one will ever know it was fake.” 

Veronica watched his face as she explained, and it was obvious as she let her plans out… That Jason Dean was more than impressed with what she had come up with. “ _ Thus  _ why I needed two guns. I can shoot one, and you can shoot the other. We plant them on their bodies and then leave.” 

“... That’s a wonderful plan.”

Without saying another word to JD, Veronica reached over to her bedside table and lifted the phone off of the receiver. She was able to quickly dial Ram’s phone number, and then proceeded to lean back into her pillows. 

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times… And then someone picked up the phone on the other end. 

“‘Sup?” 

Veronica smiled, her eyes twinkling as she started saying the lines that she had been rehearsing in her head all evening. “Ram~ I’m so glad that  _ you  _ were the one to pick up! It’s Veronica... I had a question for you~?”

She could hear poorly veiled whispering and rustling. Just like she had predicted, Kurt was also there. “What is it?”

“ _ How  _ did you and Kurt that it was always a fantasy of mine…?~ You know… To have two guys at once..?”

There was silence, and then finally a response. “Uhh…..  _ Lucky guess?”  _

“Well… If you and Kurt want to make my dream come true..?~ Meet me at the Cemetery in the morning…  _ At dawn~ _ ”

Veronica didn’t wait for a response before hanging up the phone. She knew those two horny fucks would do  _ anything  _ for sex.  **_A N Y T H I N G._ **

She looked at JD, who was…. Obviously not very content with what she had said on the phone. “... Aw, c’mon~ You know that I’m not  _ actually  _ going to do anything with them…” She shifted so that her hands were in front of her, and she pushed herself onto her knees so that she could crawl over to him and drape against him. 

“ _ Our  _ love is God, JD… I could never love anyone more than I love  _ you~ _ ” And then she leaned up, planting a kiss directly on his lips to prove her point. Of course it… Wasn’t entirely true. There was one  _ thing  _ that she could love more than JD--  _ Her ideal, beautiful world.  _

\----

JD was not only completely silent, but completely still as he sat behind a tree-- Just out of sight. The two of them had spent a good bit of time figuring the situation out. Veronica would stand in the open, while he hid not too far away. And then as soon as Veronica gave the cue, they’d both pull out their guns-- 

“ _ I can’t believe that you’re fucking actually doing this. _ ”

“Shut up.” His voice was quiet, barely audible.

“ _ I’m not going to shut up, you know as well as I do. This is wrong. She’s not worth this shit, and you know it.” _

Yes she was. Heather didn’t know what she was talking about. Veronica Sawyer was worth the entire world-- She had said it herself last night.  _ Our love is God.  _ Their love was God, and no one could take that away from them. 

There was no point in listening to this bitch. She didn’t know what she was talking about. Because she didn’t understand how important Veronica Sawyer was. She didn’t understand how  _ special their love was--  _ Because their love was God. 

_ Our love is God.  _

There were footsteps, and leaves rustling as two figures approached Veronica. It wouldn’t belong until he was to jump out and shoot one of them. There was only one thing that he could say to himself to calm his nerves, to  _ reassure himself that he was doing what needed to be done.  _

_ Our love is God.  _

“ _ You can leave right now, and not get involved anymore.” _

_ Our love is God.  _

“So… Rrronica? Do we, like, whip it out? Or what?” 

_ Our love is God.  _

“Take it slow, Ram~” He could hear her giggle. It was heavenly. “Strip for me.” 

_ Our love is God.  _

The rustling of clothing as the two of them stripped to their underwear. “... What about you?”

_ Our love is God.  _

“Well… I was hoping that you could rip my clothes off me,  _ sport. _ ” There was no way in hell that he was going to let that happen to her. 

_ Our love is God.  _

“Now… On the count of three, okay?~” 

_ Our love is God. _

“One…” All in unison. 

_ Our. _

“Two…”

_ Love.  _

“... Three!” 

_ Is God.  _ He came out from his hiding spot as soon as the word three echoed through the clearing. Just like they had planned, Veronica was already pulling out her own gun. The element of surprise had marked the entire situation in their favor, and--

**_BANG!_ **

**_BANG!_ **

Two shots fired off, almost at the exact same time. Followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the ground, a slight buffer between the two of them.The plan that Veronica had created had gone perfectly. Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney were dead. 

And, without missing a beat, Veronica was by his side, wrapping her delicate arms around him in a hug. They’d done it, and JD had gotten his reward-- That being the fact that he  _ knew  _ Veronica still loved him. 

“...  _ You two really do make me sick. _ ” A coughing fit from Heather, and then she was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update, technically on Friday! Hope ya'll like it, and enjoy the end of act one!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD learns a bit about the ghost who's been haunting him the longest while he sits in his room, hating himself.

With his suspension from school, the only place that Jason Dean could go after their morning of crime was home. … And, needless to say, the events that transpired were  _ horrible.  _ Admittedly, the scene that was happening before him was much worse than anything that he had ever witnessed from his father. It was terrifying, and the only thing that he could really do was… Sit. And watch. 

Because there was no way in hell that the ghostly blond that was coughing up ‘blood’ all over the floor of his room would accept any attempt at comfort-- And it wasn’t like  _ he  _ would have been able to much to offer comfort, anyways-- Considering the fact that Heather Chandler very obviously hated him with every fiber of her being. 

Not that he blamed her, considering that he had just allowed her to die within her own home, due to his own sick joke that had gone completely wrong--

An that was one thing that he had been thinking about since early that morning. … Was the murder of Heather Chandler an accident..?

Obviously it had been, at least on his part. He hadn’t noticed that Veronica had grabbed the wrong cup. If he had, he most definitely would have said something--  _ Mayb--  _ No. Definitely. He would have definitely had said something to her. He knew himself well enough to know that much. 

… But had Veronica noticed, and just not cared..? Had she intentionally grabbed the wrong cup…? The fact that she was so  _ willing  _ to do something like that again, to someone who had hurt her was… definitely a red flag on the situation with Chandler. 

Of course, Veronica was right about one thing.  _ Kurt and Ram did deserve what they got.  _ They were terrible people. People who would never do anything good for the world. People who would only end up like the worst person that he knew-- People who had  _ already  _ ended up very much like Big Bud Dean himself. 

There was only  _ one  _ person that Jason Dean hated more than himself, and that was his father. For a multitude of reasons. … Of course, now wasn’t the time to dwell on  _ that.  _

No, now was the time to try to register what the fuck was going on, not just with Heather Chandler--  _ But with the two new ghosts that were now following him around.  _

There was no logical way to explain what was going on. He’d helped to kill them, and that was the only connection that he had to these three terrible,  _ terrible,  _ **_horrible_ ** people-- 

… While it, more logically, should have been Veronica that they had decided to haunt… Perhaps it was for the best that it was  _ him  _ instead of her. After all, he wouldn’t want for her to have to deal with anything that she didn’t need to. That she didn’t  _ deserve  _ to-- They’d been in the right for their actions. And if someone had to ‘pay’ for that…

Then it was much better to be him, instead of her. She was lovely, and kind-- And she didn’t deserve to have to deal with anything that could upset her. It was better for him to deal with this, rather than her. 

It was better for him to sit in be, feeling numb as hell, listening to screaming. And yelling. And coughing. 

Because that’s what was happening between those through. Heather Chandler was coughing to no end, a similar scene to the morning of her death. That was a large part of his numbness, he figured. The reminder of what he had done to her that morning. How he had held her in place until she ha died her incredibly painful death. 

If she was going to die, perhaps it would have been better to do it in a way that would have ended her suffering quicker-- 

“ _ Get the  _ **_fuck_ ** _ away from me, you piece of shit! _ ” That was the first coherent thing that he had managed to understand from her since those two showed up. She was looking  _ directly  _ at Ram. 

Upon closer inspection of the two, it was very easy to see the visible wounds from their murder. Then again, it didn’t take much inspection at all-- After all, they were stripped down to their underwear. 

Ram’s chest held a gaping hole, as did Kurt’s head. … And this was the first time that Jason Dean had seen Heather Chandler puking her guts out since her  _ actual  _ death-

Nonetheless, whatever had gone on between the two of them, it was obvious that she was  _ not  _ thrilled to be stuck with Ram Sweeney for company. … Nor Kurt Kelly, for that matter. Of course, it was obvious that  _ most  _ of her beef was with the smaller of the two. 

“ _ Don’t touch me. Don’t fucking  _ **_look at me._ ** _ I want nothing to do with-- _ ” She was cut off by yet another coughing fit. 

Ram was oddly silent. Just from what JD knew about him and Kurt, he expected him to be fighting back. He expected Ram to be calling Heather every name in the book, from bitch all the way to whore-- And every word that you could imagine in between. 

But he wasn’t. 

… And, in all honesty? There was no way in hell that he was going to ask. He really couldn’t care less. Instead of continuing to deal with this, he finally mustered up enough energy to push himself out of his bed, and leave the room-- Leaving those three to continue whatever the fuck was going on between them. 

He didn’t want to be involved, and honestly? He didn’t really care in the slightest that Heather Chandler was upset by their presence. From the way that she had treated Veronica… She very clearly deserved to be distraught, right? 

…  _ Right?  _

As he made his way towards the kitchen, he froze as he heard a loud shriek from Chandler, still coming from his bedroom.

**“** **_YOU RUINED ME, YOU SICK FUCK! BEING DRUNK DOESN’T CHANGE THAT I DIDN’T WANT T--_ ** **”**

…. His breath hitched, his father’s own bragging coming to mind as Heather’s coughing and hacking worsened.

He was certain about one thing, now, at the very least. Kurt and Ram definitely got what was coming to them.

\----

According to Veronica, the funeral had been… Interesting. Not that he had went. JD had no reason to attend. While they had been his classmates, he didn’t really know them. It would have been awkward to show up, especially considering that he was involved in their deaths. Nonetheless, he was perfectly content to sit on a bench, one arm slung around Veronica’s shoulders… the other holding a Slurpee in typical JD fashion. 

“So like I was saying… Their dads  _ kissed  _ in the middle of their speech about how much they loved their dead gay sons!” She couldn’t seem to be able to hold back her laughter. “It was the greatest thing to watch, you really should’ve been there!” A short pause, before she leaned into him. “I told you that we were doing the right thing, JD. They were so accepting at the funeral… I’ve never seen anyone in Sherwood be so accepting of something like that. We’re making the world beautiful, one step at a time--”

“Well the world’ll never be as beautiful as you, my dear.” A cheeky one-liner was the perfect response to what she was saying. A quick sip of his Slurpee, and then he proceeded to squeeze her slightly tighter. He loved being so close to her. 

“Aww, you’re too sweet!” she responded, twisting around  _ just  _ enough to be able to lean up and plant a tiny kiss on his lips. He could feel his entire face burning, even more so when he heard that  _ heavenly  _ giggle that she had. “And you get flustered so easily, too!”

“Well who wouldn’t be, when you’re the one giving so much attention, babe? It’s an honor, y’know.”

She smirked, before pulling away from him very suddenly. “If it’s such an honor, then I suppose I should be more  _ sparing  _ with my attention then, hmm?~”

“E- eh?! You know that’s not what I meant at all, Veronica--” 

“That’s certainly what it sounded like~” 

“You’re just fucking with me!”

“Nope.”

It took a few moments for him to come to a decision, but JD finally slid across the bench, wrapping his arm around Veronica again. Once again, she let out a laugh-- It really  _ was  _ music to his ears, if he were to be completely honest. “Well I think I’ve done more than enough to earn the right to your attention, babe.”

“... Well when you put it  _ that  _ way…~” Another giggle. “I guess you do have a point! After all, no one else at Westerburg listens to me like  _ you  _ do~ You’re the only one that I can trust to help me, after all.” 

“... Yeah. I guess you’re ri--” He didn’t get to finish verbalizing that thought, thanks to Veronica planting yet another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you've enjoyed this so far. I have a lot more written, but I'll be posting one chapter of the fic every Friday! It's been a lot of fun to work on, especially writing the entire beginning from the perspective of JD, rather than Veronica. Of course, as the fic continues, there will be scenes from the perspective of other characters-- Not just JD! Nonetheless, I do hope that you enjoy what I've posted so far, and that you continue reading as I update. 
> 
> As I've stated before, I will be updating this fic every Friday. While I have not completed it yet, I am several chapters ahead at the time of writing this. (The fic is currently at 24k words, and I've only just started on the beginning of Act 2!)


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